Wasted
by callmebiles
Summary: McKenly wasn't expecting anything to happen that was out of the ordinary. But it happened. When Azazel killed her parents as well as Sam and Dean's mom she was forced into the life of the Supernatural. Not that she hated it. She still had Sam, Dean and John as her family. But now that John is missing it seems that she and Dean will have to team up with Sam to find him.
1. one

"Dean! Behind you!" she shouted, throwing the man her shot gun. He caught it almost falling into the grave they've been digging in the process. "A little graces would probably save your ass!" he caught himself and steadied himself on both fee, and shot the grey-haired ghost behind him.

"We can't all be as awesome as you, Ken!" Dean shouted. McKenly smirked. "How's it going down there, he asked, looking into the hole.

"I'm trying. I can only dig so fast. Why do I get stuck with the dirty work? You're the dude." She groaned, sticking the shovel into the dirt, hitting the wood beneath it.

"Dude? Yes. Gentleman? Absolutely not." McKenly could just hear the cockiness in his voice. She rolled her eyes. McKenly grabbed the shovel and used it as a way of opening the coffin. She grabbed the salt and lighter fluid and poured both on the bones. I heard another shot fire.

"You alright?" McKenly called.

"It's getting pissed. Lighter 'er up, Ken!" he replied. McKenly flicked up her zippo and started its flame.

"Eat hell, you son of a bitch." She said, dropping her lighter into the coffin as the flames erupted into the air. It flamed too fast and her hand got a tad scorched. She cursed, but heard the ghost scream out in pain and Dean let out a breath. McKenly looked up and saw that he was laying on the ground, his back turned to her, but his head was a little over the edge of the grave. "You let it get the upper hand?" he turned his head and McKenly saw his glare. I laughed.

"Shut up." he said, simply. "Or I might just leave you down there."

"And risk the chance of your partner getting caught by the fuzz? You would never." She said, a matter-of-factly, raising my eyebrows. Dean rolled his eyes and reached an arm down into the grave. She smiled, realizing that she won. McKenly grabbed his hand and he helped pull her up. "Besides, obviously I just saved your ass."

"I wouldn't have needed it, if you had loaded this thing right." He said, tossing McKenly back her gun.

"I loaded it perfectly fine." She fought, picking up their duffel of other necessary supplies to walk back to the Impala. "My gun is always loaded right. I learned from the best." She said, winking back at him.

"'Bout time you admit that, sweetheart."

"Oh, I love it when you use pet names." McKenly fake-swooned. Sure, Dean and her flirted with each other often. A lot actually. But it never actually led to anything. They were just partners. Friends. Best-friends, actually. Everyone was okay with that. He had his normal hot night and McKenly had spent those nights alone. She didn't really like sleeping around. She has only ever had sex with one guy that she went out with. The family had been there long enough for some sort of relationship to bloom. McKenly had too much self-respect to let herself become one of Dean's one night stands. She always thought it would be awkward for the two of them if they had. They had known each other for as long as they could remember. Their parents were best friends. None of their parents were ever hunters. They didn't know anything about the supernatural. At least, until Mary and McKenly's parents died.

That's when John took in McKenly. He told her that the same thing that killed Marry, killed her parents, too, and that he was going to find whoever did it and waste 'em. So, of course, him being the only form of a guardian that McKenly had left, she had to go with him. Not that she minded. The Winchesters were like her second family. She looked to John like she would her own father. Or, how she would think that she would look at her own father. She didn't remember him much. She was only four when the whole thing happened.

"So, McKenly. Where to next?" McKenly shrugged my shoulders, removing herself from her thoughts. Dean slammed the Impala's trunk down and leaned against his car. McKenly copied him, crossing her arms over her chest, being careful with her scorched hand.

"You wanna try your dad again?" McKenly suggested. "Maybe he's found something." Dean nodded, sticking his hands in his pocked for his cell phone. He dialed the number and waited for an answer. She climbed up onto the trunk, hopeful that John would answer. Dean closed his phone and cursed under his breath. "Maybe he's just busy fighting ghosts." McKenly shrugged.

"It's been a few weeks, Ken, you think he woulda picked up a freaking phone by now." McKenly nodded, agreeing.

"Yeah, but he's your dad. Remember when you ran away and didn't call us for a couple weeks?" Dean nodded. "You scared us half to death. It was the first time that you were really on your own."

"I'm fine, aren't I?" he grumbled. McKenly rolled her eyes.

"Not the point." He sighed.

"I don't know. I just… I have a bad feeling about this one. I think we're gonna need some help."

McKenly shook her head. "Don't say it." She begged. "Dean, we can do this. Just you and me, like it has been."

Dean shook his head. "I think we need to get Sam."

McKenly groaned, rolling her eyes. "Is there any way that I can talk you out of this?" she asked.

"Sorry, sourpuss." Dean apologized. McKenly pushed herself off of the trunk and walked around to the passenger side door. Her copied her, going to the driver's side. McKenly got in and dug through the glove compartment for the burn heal. "You get yourself?" Dean asked, gesturing to her hand.

"No, I just like the way that it feels. It's good moisturizer." She said, shortly.

"I know you're not all that happy about this 'Sam thing' but you don't have to be an ass to me." Dean complained. McKenly humphed in her head, rubbing some of the crème on her burn. It felt immensely cool on her burned flesh. "Can you at least tell me why you're not Team Sam?"

"He left us." McKenly said, turning her body in the seat to look at him straight on.

"You think that I don't know that?"

"He fought with your dad about it. You really think that he wants to come back?" McKenly asked him, raising her voice, but only a little bit. "Sam made his decision. He didn't want to do this anymore and I don't want to push him back into it. He'll just leave again when we find John." She paused. "If we find him."

"We'll find him. But if we don't, I'm gonna need Sam. Maybe this is a chance for us to get back to being a family again."

McKenly rolled her eyes. "Some fucked up family."

"I'm trying here, Ken." Dean said. McKenly looked at him. Dean was pleading to her now.

McKenly groaned and relaxed back into her seat. "Fine." Dean laughed to himself, reaching to turn on the car. "But we are stopping to sleep first. I need a good night's sleep if I'm going to be acting civil towards Samuel tomorrow." He drove the car back onto the main road and began his search for motels.

"Drop the 'Samuel' crap. You know he hates it."

McKenly smiled. "Oh, I know."

"Dean smirked. "That's my girl." McKenly raised an eyebrow that Dean saw. "You know what I mean." He said. McKenly gave Dean a disbelieving look. "You know what…" he said reaching for the radio dial to turn up the music. McKenly smiled at his awkwardness and turned to the window, leaning her head on the door. She felt her eyes get heavier but forced them to stay open. She couldn't' fight them for long and passed out on the drive.

_"Mommy!" the little girl cried. Her father was tackling her onto her twin bed with pink sheets trying to tickle her. She laughed and tried to avoid her father's tickles. "Daddy, stop!" she squealed. She jumped off her bed and ran to her the door. Her mother was standing there and the little girl ran into her with an 'ooph.'_

"McKenly Olivia Eden, it is way past your bedtime. What in the world are you still doing awake?" her mom asked crouching down to be at the girl's level.

"I can't sleep, Mommy. Daddy's tickling me." the girl's father snuck up behind her and tickled her again. McKenly jumped into her mother's arms and she stood up.

"Is that so?" her mom asked.

"I have no idea what she is talking about." Her father smiled big at his wife.

"Kenneth, you know that she has to get some sleep. It's really too late for her to be up." He moved forward, to kiss his wife's forehead.

"I'm sorry, Susan." He took his daughter from her and wrapped his arms around her. "Come on, Moe. Mommy says it's time for bed." The little girl awhed, protesting. "I know. But tomorrow, we are going out with the neighbors to the zoo." He said, trying to make the girl excited, but she only pouted. Kenneth put McKenly down on her bed.

"I don't wanna go. Dean is mean to me." she crossed her arms over her chest. Her father laughed.

"Don't take it to heart, honey. It only means that he likes you."

"Likes me?" she questioned, raising her eyebrows. "Yuck." She said sticking her tongue out. Her parents laughed.

"Alright now. Let's go to bed." Susan said from behind her husband. McKenly laid down in the bed that, to her, was huge. Her father tucked her into her comforter.

"Where's Bunny?" her father asked. McKenly reached behind her to grab her stuffed bunny. It was worn out so much from trips to the playground and many nights of sleeping on it. "Got him?" the girl nodded. "Good."

"Good night, sweetheart." Her mom said.

"Sleep well, Moe. We'll see you in the morning."

"Night, Mommy. Night, Daddy." She yawned, turning onto her side. Her mother and father crept out of the room leaving the door open only a little so some light from the hallway would shine in. McKenly was close to falling asleep when she heard a floorboard creak. She opened her eyes to see in the dark the best that she could. "Daddy?" she asked. The figure shushed her, opening its eyes. They were yellow. But her parents didn't have yellow eyes. She screamed loudly. Both of her parents ran into the room.

"McKenly?!" they shouted. Then they looked up at the tall shadow closing in on their daughter.

"Who the hell are you?" Kenneth asked. The figure turned to them and raised a hand. They both flew to the wall. McKenly watched as her parents were stuck to the wall and were somehow sliding up. they stopped on the ceiling where they started to bleed. McKenly cried, not know what else to do. Then the figure disappeared.

"Mommy? Daddy?"

"Moe…" her father called. "Run!" he managed to scream before he erupted into flames. But McKenly couldn't move. She was to scared she didn't know what to do.

"McKenly!" she heard a voice from the hallway. She was still crying and couldn't call out to it. Then John burst into the door. He looked at her, then to the flaming ceiling with her parents being burned alive. He cursed under his breath. "McKenly, come on!" he said, walking over to her, reaching out to her. McKenly grabbed her bunny and crawled up into John's arms. She cried into John's shoulder, unsure of what just happened. John ran out of the house and down to his own boys. Dean was sitting in the back of an ambulance holding Sam. John set McKenly down in the ambulance next to Dean and took Sam from Dean. McKenly just continued to cry. She leaned up against John and Dean hugged her shoulders not sure of what to do himself. He doesn't know what just happened. He didn't see anything. McKenly closed her eyes but all that she could see were a pair of yellow ones looking right back at her.

McKenly shot up in her bed, unaware of her surroundings. She started gasping for air, suddenly feeling like she was in a room full of smoke and flame. She coughed. Dean sat up slowly in his bed, still only half-awake. McKenly's last cough turned into a sob and at that point she noticed tears running down her cheeks.

"Ken?" Dean questioned, groggily, turning to sit on the edge of his bed. He didn't have a shirt on, but he knew better than to sleep naked with McKenly around. he had on a pair of pajama pants. He reached to turn on the light in the middle of the two beds. "McKenly? What's wrong?" he pushed himself out of bed and rushed to his friend's side. The tears wouldn't stop their descent from her eyes, but she was crying silently now. Dean sat down on McKenly's bed, next to her, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, hugging her. She turned into his shoulder and held onto his waist for dear life. He shushed his friend to stop her from crying. "It's alright." He soothed. "It was only a dream." McKenly calmed down a little, hoping to stop crying altogether. She hated it when Dean saw her cry. It was like he would start to think that she was weak and couldn't handle this job. She wasn't brave enough. However, whenever she had this dream, it was like I couldn't hold back. Everything would come back to her all at once an  
d she would see them so vividly.

"It wasn't a dream. It was a memory. It was that night." McKenly said, knowing that he would understand exactly which night she was talking about. He leaned back in the bed, putting his feet up, and pulling her down with him. She laid down and continued to hug him.

"It's alright, Ken. I swear. We will get that son of a bitch." Dean promised. McKenly nodded against his chest, as her tears slowly began to stop and she relaxed. She listened to the sound of Dean's heartbeat, feeling his chest moving up and down from his breathing. McKenly managed to stay focused on those two things and instantly fell back to sleep.

The next morning McKenly woke up and was surprised by her position. Her arms were still wrapped tightly around Dean and her head was laying on his chest. He was sound asleep, but she backed away, surprised, and he shot up, reaching under his pillow for his knife. When he couldn't find it he looked around at his surroundings, too. He saw McKenly lying in bed with him and the bed that he got up from last night. McKenly scratched at the back of her neck, completely embarrassed. Once he figured things out he seemed calm about it.

"Well, _that_ was probably the best sleep I've had in a long time." He stated, confidently. McKenly rolled her eyes and scoffed at him, getting out of bed. "What?" he asked, raising his arms to the side. McKenly grabbed his shirt from the top of the dresser and through it at him. She walked quickly to get her back pack from the corner and get to the bathroom. McKenly slammed the door, started the shower and leaned against the wall. _Did he actually enjoy that?_McKenly sighed and threw back her head. There was a knock at the door. "Ken?" Dean called. At first, she didn't answer, scared of what he was going to say next.

"Yeah?" she said, sounding somewhat hopeful.

"Uh, wheels up in thirty." She nodded her head to Dean's request, thankful that he hadn't brought up what happened. McKenly couldn't believe that he said that he liked sleeping with her. Sure, nothing happened and they were just sleeping, but they haven't slept in the same bed together since they were kids. It's definitely not the same as it was back then. McKenly tried to avoid the feeling that she liked it and Dean comes right out and said that he did. They had agreed to never let anything get beyond their friendship and she was afraid this might have.

McKenly showered quickly, giving Dean time to jump in before they took off. She knew she wasn't driving so she took a beer out of the fridge and took a big swig of it. Dean came out of the bathroom to see her with a beer in her hand, half gone.

"You're starting a little early today, don't you think?" Dean asked. McKenly just glared at him. He laughed to himself, throwing his clothes back into his duffel bag. McKenly quickly finished her bottle and slammed it down on the table. Dean looked at her for a moment, astonished. "Uh, you ready?"

McKenly nodded, and grabbed her bag from the bed. She forgot that she hadn't closet it yet and everything came spilling out. She groaned, crouching down to pick everything up. When she thought she had grabbed everything, she stood up to close it, but her eyes caught on Dean. He was holding a worn-out pink fabric between his hands. She got a closer look at it and saw it was her stuffed rabbit. Her eyes widened. "Shit!" she said, quickly reaching for it. He pulled it away quickly. "Dean, I'm not going to play this game with you." McKenly got closer to him but he just put it over his head so that she couldn't' reach it. She tried, but he was much taller than her. then She noticed the closeness and backed up. She sighed, "Dean, please. We gotta get goin'." She said. He held it out to her with a smile on his face.

"You still have that thing?" Dean asked.

McKenly shrugged her shoulders, but nodded, grabbing the rabbit from his hands. "It's the only thing that I have left of them. I like to think it's okay that I have it." She said, not looking at him, but stuffing the rabbit back into her bag. Dean didn't' say anything. She could feel his eyes on her, but she didn't look his direction. Between him finding her rabbit, and them sleeping together, she didn't want to show him her embarrassment. She knew that he was probably mocking her in his head and she didn't want him doing it out loud. He wasn't though.

Dean felt incredibly bad for slightly teasing her about her stuff rabbit. He put his bag over his shoulder and grabbed his keys. "Let's roll." He said. McKenly grabbed her bag and left out of the room first.

* * *

**For my new readers! I am currently in the process of re-typing this entire story out of McKenly's POV so the next chapter will be in her POV. I don't want to confuse you, but if I have I'm sorry for the confusion and I am trying to change this up as quickly and painlessly as possible. :)**


	2. two

I couldn't even face him in the car. I kept my distance, staying on my side, leaning against the door. I only spoke to him when he asked me if I was hungry. I'd say yes and we'd stop somewhere at a taco joint or a diner. We wouldn't talk to each other. He would occasionally look over my way and start to say something, but he would change his mind and sigh, returning back to his food. I didn't want him to say anything. It would just make things worse.

In just about a day, we were just outside of Sunny California in a little town called Ehrenberg. We stopped to pick up burgers and then Dean pulled into a motel and turned off the car. I groaned. I didn't want to stop. I just wanted to get Sam and start finding John.

"I could drive. If you trusted me with her." I said, not turning my head.

"We need to talk before we have Sam." I groaned.

"I'm not really a fan of chick flicks." I said. Dean laughed once. "Besides there really isn't anything that we need to talk about."

"You haven't talked to me all day." I groaned and climbed out of the car and started walking to the lobby. "Are you just gonna ignore me forever?!" he yelled after me. I turned around throwing my hands up the sides.

"You wouldn't be able to stay away from me for that long!" I yelled back at him, smiling. I walked into the small undecorated lobby. There was an old man sitting behind a small desk that was more like a table. I gave him a smile. He looked up and barely noticed me, but then he took a second glance and smiled.

"Hey, there, Miss." He said, with a creepy smile. On the inside I was completely disgusted, but I kept my flirty smile. I walked up and leaned my elbows on the table, making sure to flash him my cleavage a little. I hated doing this, but I was the best way to get a discounted motel.

"Hi." I said, in a breathy voice. "Is there any way that I can get a room? My car broke down a bit up the road and I don't have much cash. Do you think that I can get a room for…" I reached into my back pocket and pulled out a couple twenties. "…this?"

"Well, lucky for you, there's a sale goin' on now where rooms are for that amount exactly." He said, trying to flirt with me. I internally rolled my eyes, but kept my smile. "Thank you." I said, with a breathy voice, still, but he didn't move. I leaned down on the desk and grabbed one of the keys, putting only one twenty in his shirt pocket. I winked and walked out of the lobby being sure so sway my hips a little more than usual. I rolled my eyes pushing the door open and going back to the car.

"How much?" Dean asked, when I got back to the car. I smirked at him opening his trunk for our bags.

"Twenty." I realized something quickly. "Not that I'm talking to you." He laughed.

"Well, I'm proud of you. You know if you were to turn on that sex appeal for just a few minutes, I'm sure that you would get so much for free." I turned away to hide my blush and walked to the room I grabbed the key for. When I got into the room, I went straight to the bed and laid down and closed my eyes. I heard Dean walking around the motel room. He sighed. "Ken, get up. I know you're not sleeping."

"And how do you know that?" I asked, keeping my eyes shut.

"Sweetheart, I know you. and I know that you would never sleep in jeans. You like to be comfortable" I opened my eyes to glare at him. "Glare at me all you want, but you will still talk to me." I sighed, and sat up, crossing my legs. He sat down on his bed across from me.

"I'm trying not to make things awkward." I said, simply, trying to avoid his eyes, but mine always found themselves beck to him. He looked confused. "We…cuddled…together." He laughed. "Dean! It's not funny. You're my best friend. We aren't allowed to do that. And we're especially not allowed to like it," I said bringing up when he said it was the best night's sleep he's gotten.

"Ken, you're making a big deal outta nothing." He laughed, but then turned serious. "I was only comforting you and if that was a bad thing, then you'll have to deal with it. When I noticed that you had fallen asleep, I didn't wanna wake up again." I groaned, internally. I couldn't believe I let my brain wander that far down the wrong path. I sighed.

"You wanna beer?" I asked. Dean smiled.

"I would love a beer." He said. I held my handout for his keys that he passed over. I walked out to grab the cooler out of the car. I looked up and thought I saw a shadow. I squinted through the darkness. I swore I saw a yellow glow across the lot. I walked around the car, hand on my gun, but the more that I walked forward, the more the glow faded. I stopped halfway to where I saw the glow and stood there for a minute.

"Ken!" I jumped at the sound of Dean's voice. "Dr. Sexy, M.D. is on!" He called. I turned around, slowly and saw him leaning on the door frame. "Everything okay?" He said, protectively, noticing my hand's position on my gun. I nodded.

"Yeah." We're good." I turned back to where the glow was. "I just thought I saw something." I turned and started to walk back, grabbing the cooler. "We're good, thought." Dean gently pushed me through the door with a hand on my back. He leaned out after I was inside to look around. he closed the door, locking it as much as he could, not that it would stop anything that we deal with. We both sat up against the hand board of the bed in front of the television with burgers in hand as the two of us watched out guilty pleasure. After it was over, Dean looked over at the clock. It was just around one in the morning. Dean looked back to me.

"Just so we're clear, we aren't sleeping in the same bed?" I shook my head.

"How we're doing things, how have been acting towards each other, as friends, it's working." I know he was only talking about sleeping in the same bed, but that could always lead to something more. I just didn't need that between Dean and I. We spend too much of our lives together for things to get that complicated. Not to mention I know how he is when it came to girls.

"Alright, then." He said, getting up off the bed to get his duffel. I did the same reaching for my pajamas. He went to change in the bathroom and I quickly changed in the main room. He came out just as I was pulling my shirt down. We laid down in our separate bed and turned out the lights. I stared up at the ceiling and tossed and turned. This lasted for about an hour before I turned to look in Dean's direction. I couldn't tell if he was awake.

"Dean?" I whispered. He moved. "Dean, you awake?"

"Yeah." He answered, sighing. "What's up?" I contemplated how to answer his question.

"I can't sleep." I said, innocently. I thought about what I was going to do. I knew he would suggest us to sleep in the same bed like last night, but was I actually going to do it when I had just said I wouldn't. I heard him move his covers around.

"Come here." He said. I could hear the smirk that he had on his face in his voice. I climbed out from my covers and switched beds. I curled myself up to his side and his arms tightened their way around me. "I knew you couldn't resist me."

"Shut up." I closed my eyes, putting my head on his chest, which was covered this time with a shirt.

"Good night, Ken." He said, a truly caring tone in his voice. I just grumbled in agreement, drifting quickly to sleep.

We decided to sleep in the next morning to get as much sleep as we could. Dean was set on Sam coming back with us and it would have been a little awkward if Sam caught us sleeping together. I definitely wasn't okay with Sam coming back. I was pretty sure that he wouldn't even want to. The kid left for a reason and he left with a fight. There was no way that he would come back with us even if we begged him to.

While we slept we got a suspicious message from John that had some EVP on it. I listened to it over and over. About the fifth time I listened to it, I heard some background on it. I slowed it down and found an underlying message. We decided to use this as leverage to get Sam to come with us.

I did my best to not make things as awkward as the other day. I already felt bad enough for causing a fight with Dean. I mean, he's my best friend and we spend twenty four-seven with each other. We need to be able to get along. Us sleeping together actually helped us a lot. We got more sleep, and better sleep, so we were less cranky. I was definitely more comfortable and I felt safer knowing Dean was right there. I don't know how anyone can do this job alone. I would be too paranoid to sleep.

When we got packed up and the Impala was ready to go, I walked back to the lobby to turn in the key. The same grey-haired man was sitting at the desk just like last night. He didn't smile when he saw me. I panicked a little, hoping he hadn't figured me out.

"Hey, there." I said, in a cute voice. He didn't respond. "Don't you remember me?" I joked.

"Oh, I remember you." He said, darkly. I furrowed my brow. He blinked his eyes and now they were pure black.

"Shit! What the hell?" I dropped the keys and ran out of the lobby. "Dean!" I shouted to him, still running. "Start the car!" he leaned out of the window, chewing on a candy bar.

"What?" he yelled back. I groaned running to the car.

"Car! Start it! Now!" The thing finally came out of the lobby and Dean noticed I was being chased. He started the car and drove recklessly towards me. I jumped through the passenger side door that Dean had opened. He quickly drove off onto the highway.

"What the hell was that?" Dean demanded. Is shrugged, still trying to catch my breath.

"He was different from last night. His eyes turned black." Dean groaned, frustrated he didn't know what was going on. His eyes fixated on the road in front of us.

"We've got to find Sam." I nodded. Granted I really didn't want to find him, but Dean did. And Dean needed help. Sam knew a lot about the lore from staying back with me when John and Dean went out. I was also trying to make things a lot easier on him. I couldn't say I would do the same in the same room as Sam, but I would try.

It was dark by the time that we reach Stanford. We pulled up to the apartment. Dean looked out his window and I leaned over to do the same.

"Are you sure that this is it?" I asked him, unsure. It looked almost too homey for Sam to be living there, given his life style before he left. Dean nodded.

"This is exactly what he would have wanted. Something different." I nodded, actually seeing where he was coming from. I glanced at the clock on the dash.

"Dean. It is really late. Are you just gonna knock on the door and expect him to answer? He left us, remember?" I said. Yeah it was harsh, but I wanted to talk him out of getting Sam.

"I know that." He defended. "That is why I don't plan on knocking." He smiled, pulling a bobby pin out of my hair. I groaned. He quickly got out of the Impala and up to the front step. I followed him.

"Dean, he's a hunter. He could kill us. Let's just wait until tomorrow." Dean shook his head, kneeling to pick the lock. I turned around to keep watch. I heard the click of the lock and an 'aha' from Dean. He tried to open the door. I smiled when I realized Sam was smart enough to lock more than a pick-able lock. Dean groaned and got up to try a nearby window. He pushed up and it opened. He smiled, I did not.

"Ladies first." Deans aid, gesturing to the window. I climbed through and he followed. He instantly tried for the kitchen. Probably for a beer. Instead he ran into door beads. I rolled my eyes.

"Smooth. Can we just go?" I whispered. Dean shook his head and put a finger to his lips. Dean entered a new room and was grabbed by his shoulder. He knocked the new arm away and went to hit the guy with his other arm, but he ducked. Dean grabbed an arm and swung him around. The guy kicked Dean, who blocked it. They were both pushed into the room I was in. I tried not to make my presence known, so I hugged the wall. It was lighter in this room, though and I noticed the guy was Sam.

"Sam, stop!" I exclaimed, but I only distracted him. Dean was able to get ahold of him, knock him off his feet, and pin him by his neck and wrist.

"Whoa, easy, tiger." Dean joked. Sam tried to catch his breath.

"Dean?" he question. Then his focus went to me. "Ken?" I smiled.

"Surprise." I said, nervously. Sam looked back to Dean who still smiled.

"You scared the crap outta me."

"That's because you're outta practice." Dean retorted.

"I told him I was a bad idea, but you know him. Once he's got a thought in his brain, he goes after it." I made fun of Dean, who turned his head slightly to glare at me. Now Dean was distracted and Sam was able to grab Dean's hand and slam his heel into Dean's back. Dean was not on the floor. I laughed.

"Or not." Dean said, his voice strained, pushing the pain away. "Get off of me." Dean tried pushing Sam up, but he had too good of a grip. Sam rolled off of his brother and reached a hand to help him up. I figured it was safe to approach them, now that their fighting was over.

"What the hell are you two doing here?"

"What do you think?" I scoffed. Dean shot me a look. I took a step back rolling my eyes.

"Well, I was looking for a beer." Dean said, speaking for himself. Dean walked closer Sam and placed his hands on his brother's shoulders, almost as if he couldn't believe it was really him. I could tell Dean really did miss him. He seems happier with him. Dean dropped his hands.

"What the hell are you two doing here?" Sam asked again. Dean looked to me.

"It's not time for jokes, Dean." I told him. He let out a silent sigh and relaxed his arms at his sides.

"Okay." He defended. "Alright, we gotta talk." Sam looked at him like he was stupid. Damn, I wanted to punch him.

"Couldn't you have picked up a phone?" I rolled my eyes.

"Like you would have picked up." I remarked. The light turned on and I was the one to look first. "Who is this, Samuel?" I asked, walking up to Dean, standing pretty close to him. The boys didn't look though. They held their gaze, staring each other down. Until the girl spoke and the two turned their heads at the same time.

"Jess." Sam replied, surprised. "Hey." He gestured to Dean and me. "Dean, McKenly, this is my girlfriend, Jessica." I smiled at her. Then I looked to Dean and saw his smile. I thought. I elbowed him. He jerked his body towards me.

"What?" he asked.

"Did "girlfriend" not register through your thick skull?" Dean shrugged his shoulders.

"Wait, your brother Dean?" Jessica asked, putting things together, smiling. Sam nodded. Dean grinned, noticing her small shirt and short shorts. I walked forward hopefully just to introduce himself.

"Oh, I love the Smurfs." I rolled my eyes.

"Here we go." I said. Dean didn't falter on his advances.

"You know, I gotta tell ya. You are completely outta my brother's league." Jess turned to leave the room. I could tell she wasn't with Dean. I laughed to myself.

"Just let me put something on." She said, but Dean stopped her.

"No, no, no. I wouldn't dream of it." I pushed my anger down to my stomach, but why was I angry? "Anyway, we gotta borrow your boyfriend here, talk about some private family business."

"But it was nice meeting you." I added, pulling Dean, by his jacket, away from Jessica.

"No," Sam said, defiantly. I looked back at Sam.

"When did you grow a pair?" I asked him, watching as he walked over to Jess and put a protective arm around her. Sam sent what looked like a glare towards me.

"No, whatever you want to say you can say it in front of her." Sam retorted. Dean looked back to me. I gave him a 'go on' look.

"Okay." He turned back to Jess and Sam. "Um, Dad hasn't been home in a few days." Sam shrugged.

"So? He's working overtime on a Miller Time shift. He'll stumble back in sooner or later." Dean laughed, shortly while I rolled my eyes and stepped forward.

"John's been on a hunting trip." I stressed. "And he hasn't been home in a few days." Sam tensed up but his expression didn't change. I kept eye contact with him, but his eyes moved to Dean. Jess glanced up at her boyfriend.

"Jess, excuse us. We have to step outside for a moment."

* * *

I don't want to get your hopes up but don't get too excited about these quick updates. The past few days have just been all writing. Usually I try to update at least once a week, but this week you guys were lucky and got two. :)  
3 :)


	3. three

After Sam had excused the three of us from Jessica's presence, he pushed us outside where he thought it was a good idea to lecture us. Something about breaking in in the middle of the night. He said that we shouldn't have expected him to come with us. I laughed at that comment. Sam looked at me with questioning look.

"I wasn't expecting you to come with us."

"McKenly." Dean warned, giving me a hard stare. I smiled and then acting as if I was zipping my lips and throwing away a key. His attention turned back to his brother. "You're not hearing me, Sammy. Dad's missing. We need your help to find him."

"You remember the poltergeist in Amherst? Or the Devil's Gates in Clifton? He went missing then, too. He's always missing, and he's always fine. He comes back eventually. We can't babysit a grown man, Dean." Dean and Sam stodd on the porch and I stood behind Dean, just watching their fight.

"It has never been this long." Dean said, defiantly. "Now are you gonna come with me or not?"

"I'm not."

"Why not?" Dean asked. I could hear the pleading tone in his voice, but I know he was trying to hide most of it.

"I swore that I was done hunting. For good."

"Come on. It wasn't easy, but it wasn't that bad." Dean went down the stairs to stand on the grass. Sam and I followed. Sam laughed.

"When I told Dad I was scared of the thing in my closet, he gave me a .45." I laughed.

"That was great. You should have seen the look on your face when he handed you that gun." Dean shot me a look and I turned my laugh into a cough. "I mean, uh, what was he supposed to do?"

"I was nine years old! He was supposed to say, don't be afraid of the dark."

"What? Don't be afraid of the dark?" Dean questioned, as if Sam were crazy. "Are you kidding me? Of course you should be afraid of the dark. You know exactly what's out there."

"Yeah, but then I didn't. The way we grew up, after Mom was killed, and Dad's obsession to find the thing that killed her…" Sam paused. "But we still haven't found the damn thing. So we kill everything that we can."

"Sam, we've saved people." I said, taking a step forward, getting a little sick of what he was saying. "We have saved so many lives. All of us have. you would rather live in a world where all those people would have died without us?" No one answered. "I think all of that is worth the job. "Dean looked at me and I could tell just by his look that he agreed with me.

"Do you think Mom would have wanted this for us?" He turned to me. "Ken, do you think that your parents would have wanted you running around with gun chasing the supernatural?" I tensed up, my face hardening into a hard stare at Sam. I turned on my heel and started back for the Impala. I heard Dean slap Sam. "Ken, stop." For some reason, I stopped, halfway to the Impala. "All that I'm saying is that we learned how to use a gun before we were teenagers. We were melting silver to make bullets. Guys, we were raised like warriors. It's like Dad was putting us through basic training."

"So what are you gonna do, Sammy?" Dean asked. "You just gonna go back in there, have sex with your girlfriend and live some normal, apple pie life?"

"No, I don't call it normal, Dean. It's safe."

"Were you scared?" I asked, still angry with him for talking about my parents. "Is that why you ran away from us?" Dean looked at me but let me continue to take over.

"I didn't run away, McKenly!" he said, stepping up closer to me. "I was going to college. It was Dad who said if I was gonna go that I should stay gone. And that's what I'm doing."

"Yeah, well, your dad is missing, Sam. He could be in some real trouble. That is, if he's not dead already." Dean caught my eyes, and I apologized with just a look. I know that he didn't want to think that his father was dead, but we had to keep it on the table. "You were my best friend, like my brother. And then you were gone. And, as much as I hate you for leaving us, we can't do this alone." Sam put his hands on my shoulder so that I would focus on him.

"Yes, you can. You have each other."

"Yeah, well, we don't want to." I looked up into Sam's eyes. He sighed and pulled me into a hug, wrapping his arms around my shoulders. I squeezed him tight, happy to have my other best friend in front of me. He looked over to Dean.

"What was he hunting?" I knew that Dean was smiling. After I pulled away, Dean put an arm around my shoulders to lead me to the car. He smiled down at me and I smiled back, leaning into him. He kissed my head and the butterflies erupted in my stomach.

"Thank you." My face heated up. I nodded, at a loss for words. When we got to the car, Dean opened the trunk and then the spare-tire compartment. He propped it open with one of our shotguns and started to dig through the stuff.

"Alright, let's see…" he said, looking around, "where the hell did I put that thing?" I rolled my eyes and handed him the file folder that he was looking for.

"So when Dad left, why didn't you guys go with him?" Sam questioned.

"We had our own gig. There was this ghost thing, down in New Orleans."

"Dad let you go out on a hunting trip by yourselves?" Dean looked at Sam.

"You aren't giving us enough credit." I said, smiling.

"Seriously. I'm twenty-six, dude." Dean said to his brother. Dean pulled a few papers out of the folder. "Okay. So, Dad was checking out this two-lane blacktop just outside of Jericho, California. About a month ago, this guy…" Dean handed a paper with a picture of a guy on it. "They found his car, but he vanished. Completely MIA."

"So he was kidnapped?" Sam asked.

"That's what we thought. Then there was another one in April." Dean tossed more papers into the trunk. "Another one in December '04, '03, '98, '92. Ten men go missing over the past twenty years." Sam picked up the papers and looked at them before putting the back in the folder. "Same five-mile stretch." I reached in for the video recorder with the voicemail from John on it.

"It started happening more, so your dad went to go dig around. That was three weeks ago and we haven't heard from him since. Until…" I held out the recorder. "we got a voicemail last night." I pressed play and we listened closely to the recording which was full of static like the signal was breaking up. Then I stopped it.

"You know there's EVP on that, right?" I nodded.

"Good job, Sam. Kinda like picking up that bike again, huh?" Dean laughed. "So I slowed the message down, worked a bunch of techy mumbo-jumbo, and then got this." I pressed play again.

"I can never go home…" a woman's voice appeared, quietly.

"Never go home?" I nodded to Sam. I threw the recorder in the trunk, before Dean got around to closing it. The two of us leaned against the trunk of his car, facing Sam.

"You know, it has been almost two years since we've bothered you or asked you for anything." Sam looked at me.

"Please, Sammy…" I begged, giving him puppy dog eyes. He smiled and me and sighed, turning back to Dean.

"Alright, I'll come. I'll help you find him." Dean smiled. I smiled just from his smile. "But I have to get back first thing Monday." Sam turned away.

"What is first thing Monday?"

"I have an interview."

"What? A job interview? Skip it." I slapped Dean's stomach and he groaned. Sam smiled.

"It's a law school interview, and It's my whole future on a plate."

"Law school?" Dean smirked.

"Cool deal, Sammy." I congratulated.

"So we got a deal or not?" Dean didn't say anything. I knew that he really wanted Sam to stay with us, so I decided to answer him.

"Yes." We gotta deal." Dean gave me a look once Sam worked his way back to his apartment. "It's better to have him for one job than not at all, isn't it?" he nodded.

"Well, for someone who really doesn't want him to come, you did a very good job at convincing him to come." I nodded.

"Yeah, well, he's your brother. And you want him back." I stated, looking at the finger nail I was picking at.

"You really don't like him, though, huh?"

"It's not that at all." I shook my head. "I just…" I searched for the right words. "I feel really betrayed by him. He left us. There one minute, gone the next. And the fight that he had with your dad…" I paused, looking at him. "I love Sam, I do. I just hate that he let things get that bad and just left them like that." Dean only nodded. "But I know that you want him back and I'm willing to be civil and help you. If only for a weekend."

"I couldn't have asked for a better you, Ken."

"Yeah, I know. I'm just too awesome, huh?" I hip bumped him, smiling and joking.

"You definitely are." He smiled down at me, and moved around me to face me. He picked me up by my waist to sit me down on the trunk of the Impala. I laughed.

"Dean?" I asked. "What are you doing?" I watching him as he pulled himself up to sit next to me. He wrapped an arm around my shoulder again and pulled with him to lean back to look at the stars. I laughed at him. "Fair warning would have been nice." I said, leaning into him.

"Nah," he said, shrugging. "I like the element of surprise."

"It definitely suits you." I decided to enjoy this time I had alone with my best friend, since this weekend we will be having a third rider to our trip.

We were about halfway to Jericho when the Impala, and Dean, needed to fill their tanks. I filled the Impala and returned back to the backseat to stretch out along it. Dean came back out of the convenience store with a bag full of snacks. He threw a bag of chips and a soda through the window. Sam had Dean's box of tapes in his lap, searching through it with the door open.

"Hey!" Dean called to get Sam's attention. Sam leaned out the door and looked to Dean. "You want breakfast?" Sam shook his head.

"Nah, thanks." He said, still searching through the box. Dean leaned up against the car. "So how'd you pay for that stuff anyway? You and Dad still running credit card scams?" Dean scoffed.

"Yeah, well, hunting doesn't exactly bring home the bacon."

"They send us the cards. That's not our fault. All we do is apply." I joked. Sam laughed.

"What names did you apply with this time?" Dean walked back around to his side of the car. Sam swung his legs back in the car.

"Uh," Dean tried to remember his father's card. "Burt Aframian?" He questioned putting his snack bag on the floor. "Son, Hector. Daughter, Abby. Got three cards outta the deal." Dean closed the door.

"Yeah, that sounds about right." Sam gave up on the box of tapes. "You have got to update your cassette tapes."

"What?" Dean looked over. "Why?"

"Well, for one, they're cassette tapes. And two," Sam held up a few tapes. "Black Sabbath? Motorhead? Metallica?" Dean took the last tape from his brother. "It's the greatest hits of mullet rock." Dean looked at me in the rearview mirror.

"You got something to say about my tapes?" I shook my head.

"I don't mind at all." I smiled at him.

"That's my girl." I blushed. Sam looked back at me and I tried to hide it. "Well, house rules, Sammy." Dean put the tape in the player and dropped the box back into the collection. "Driver picks the music, shot gun shuts his cake hole." I laughed, taking the big box from Sam and put it on the floor by my feet. The music began to play. Sam had to yell to speak to Dean. I laughed at his attempt.

"You know, Sammy is a chubby twelve-year-old! It's Sam, okay?"

"Sorry, I can't hear you, music's too loud." I smiled at Dean through the rearview as he drove off.

About an hour later, Sam made a couple calls to the Jericho hospital and morgue. There was no one matching John's description or name. I saw Dean relax his shoulders, but there was no doubt about it that he was still worried. We drove up to a bridge where a kid's car was found abandoned. Dean grabbed some fake badges for us, posing as federal marshals. He smiled to us.

"Sorry, Sammy, but you don't have a badge." I laughed.

"Looks like you're hanging here." Sam sighed and Dean smiled at me through the mirror.

"Let's go." Dean said, handing me my badge. I looked over the side of the bridge to see two men in wetsuits, probably searching the water for a body. There were officers who were sitting and analyzing the car. There were two deputies who were talking at the abandoned car. I think he said something about his daughter's relation to the missing guy. Dean spoke first.

"You guys had another one like this, just last month, didn't you?" One of the men looked us up and down. Probably scoping us out.

"And you are?" We flashed our badges.

"Federal Marshals."

"You two are a little young for marshals, aren't you?" Dean laughed. I smiled at the man.

"Thanks, that's awfully kind of you." I rolled my eyes at him, and brought us back to why we were impersonating feds in the first place.

"You did have another disappearance like this one, correct?"

"Yeah, that's right. Only this one was about a mile up the road. There were also others/ even before that."

"So, the victim," I started, gently. "you knew him?" the man nodded.

"In a town like this, everybody knows everybody." I walked one way around the car and Dean walked the other.

"Any connections between the victims? Besides the fact that they're all men."

"No, not so far as we can tell."

"So, what is your theory?" I asked.

"Honestly? We don't know. Could be serial murder? Maybe a kidnapping ring?" the deputy shrugged.

"Well, that is exactly the kind of crack police wo-" Dean didn't get to continue since I slapped his chest so hard that he lost his breath.

"Thank you for your time. Keep up the good work." I said with a smile. I started to turn back towards the car. Dean turned to follow me. When he realized I was walking too fast, he started to jog to catch up.

"McKenly? What was that for?"

"You can't talk to cops like that Dean." I stopped waiting for him to catch up.

"They have no idea what's going on. They aren't any help to us. We are alone on this. If we're going to find Dad, we've got to get to the bottom of this ourselves."

"That doesn't mean you have to be a sarcastic ass." I said, turning away, but I almost ran into a sheriff and two FBI agents. I let in a breath.

"Can I help you?" the sheriff asked. I opened my mouth to say something but I panicked. I never really did like going undercover. I respected the lawmen and it annoyed me to lie to them. Dean noticed my struggle and grabbed my elbow.

"No, sir, we were just leaving." He pulled me along past the men. My eyes wouldn't leave the sheriff's. He was just staring me down, and it kind of scared me. "Ken?" my head snapped back to Dean and I nodded.

"Right, sorry." We filled Sam in with the information that we found out from the crime scene which was next to nothing. He didn't like that Dean was about to mouth off to the cops either. I laughed as we agreed on something. We pulled into town and parked somewhere to walk to find food. I noticed a girl was putting up flyers at an old movie theater. I got the boys attention. "Guys, maybe that's the deputy's daughter, Amy."

"We can't know that for sure." Sam said. I shrugged my shoulders.

"No harm in trying to find out." I walked up to the girl. Sam gave Dean a look and Dean copied me. "You must be Amy." She nodded her head.

"Yeah."

"Troy told us about you. We are his cousin's. I'm McKenly, this is Sam and Dean." I gestured to each of them. Amy shook her head confused.

"He never mentioned you to me." I opened my mouth to speak but Dean spoke instead, interrupting me.

"Well, that's Troy, I guess. We're not around much. We're up in Modesto."

"We're looking for him, too. We're kinda asking around, trying to find out where people saw him last." Another girl came up to us and put a hand on Amy's arm.

"Hey, are you okay?" she said. Amy nodded.

"Do you mind if we ask you a few questions?" Sam asked, leading them into a diner that was nearby. We all sat at a booth with a chair pulled up to the end for Sam. Amy was telling us the story of when she last spoke to Troy.

"I was on the phone with him. He was driving home. He said he had to go, but he would call me right back. And…he never did."

"Was there anything strange or out of the ordinary? Did he say anything to you?" Sam asked. Amy shook her head.

"No, not that I can remember." Amy said. Dean put his arm around the back of the seat behind me. I leaned forward, guessing he was giving me free rein to ask the next questions.

"We really wanna find Troy." I said. "The way Troy disappeared…I just don't feel right about it. If you have heard anything, that you can think about, you can tell us." The two girls looked at each other. Dean leaned forward.

"What?" Dean asked. "What is it?"

"Well, it's just…" Rachel started. "I mean, with all these guys going miss, some people talk."

"About what?" Dean and I said at the same time. I looked at him, blushed, and quickly turned away.

"It's kind of this local legend." Rachel explained. "This one girl, got murdered out on Centennial. It was decades ago, only…" she paused. "Only some people think that she's still out there." Sam nodded, for her to go on. "She hitchhikes, and whoever picks her up, they disappear. Forever." Sam and Dean looked at each other and I sat between them nodding to the girls.


	4. four

The three of us went straight to the library to use on of the computers there. I grabbed a book for myself to read and Dean and Sam sat themselves around the computer. I knew I wasn't going to be much help because I hated computers. I also wanted to give Sam and Dean their space. Dean didn't want to show it much but I knew that he enjoyed the time he had with his brother. Sam was going back on Monday and who knew when we were going to see him next. Dean had probably given the search engine several goals that came up empty. I could tell Sam was getting impatient with Dean because Sam ended up pushing his brother's chair out of the way of the computer so that he could give it a go.

"Dude!" Dean shouted. I shushed him. "Dude." He said softer and then his Sam in the shoulder. "You're such a control freak. I laughed at the two of them and returned to my book.

"What if it's not murder?" I asked, trying to throw them a curve ball. I knew that Dean had only been searching for murders because that is what Rachel told us about the legend. Sam played off of my suggestion.

"That would make sense if angry spirits are born out of violent deaths." Sam searched one more time replacing the search to come up with suicides instead of murders. "Got it." Sam said that it was an article about a local woman, Constance Welch, who had jumped off of the bridge in 1981 and drowned in the river. I put my book down and got up, leaning over Sam's shoulder, putting a hand on the back of his chair. Dean came over and did the same putting his hand over mine. I looked up at him but his gaze remained on the computer screen.

"Does it say why she did it?" He asked.

"Yeah. An hour before they found her, she calls 911. Apparently her two little kids are in the bathtub. She leaves them alone for a minutes, and when she comes back, they aren't breathing. Both die." Dean raised his eyebrows at the article. There was a picture of the husband on the bridge. The same bridge where Troy went missing.

"'Our babies were gone, and Constance just couldn't bear it,' said husband, Joseph Welch." I pointed to the bridge in the picture.

"So that's where were going next, huh?" I questioned and Dean nodded, finally taking his hand off mine. We quickly got back to the Impala and drove over to Centennial Highway by the bridge. We walked down the right side of the bridge and stopped about hallway down it. Dean leaned over the railing to look down at the river.

"So this is where Constance took the swan dive?" I nodded, looking around. Something didn't feel right to me.

"Do you think that Dad would have been here?" Sam asked, looking over at Dean. Dean nodded.

"Well, he is chasing the same story and we're chasing him." Dean continued to walked down the bridge. I tried to keep as closely behind him as I could.

"So now what?"

"Now we have to keep digging until we find him. It could take a while." Dean said, nonchalantly. Sam stopped walking.

"Dean, I told you, I've gotta get back by Monday." Dean turned around to face his brother and nodded.

"Monday. Right. The interview." I sighed. Dean really didn't want him to go and I could hear it in his voice.

"Yeah."

"Yeah, I forgot." He laughed. I could hear it in his voice that he was about to take this conversation a little too far so I put my hand on the inside of his lower arm. "You're really serious about this, aren't you?"

"Dean…" I warned.

"You think you're just going to become some lawyer? Marry your girl?"

"Maybe. Why not?"

"Does Jessica know the truth about you? Does she know about what you've done?" Sam took a step closer to his brother.

"No, and she's not going to know. She doesn't need to."

"Well, that's healthy. You can pretend all that you want, Sammy. But sooner or later, you're going to have to face up to who you really are." Dean turns around to walk further down the bridge. Sam and I followed closely behind him.

"And who am I, Dean?"

"You're one of us." He gestured to me and himself.

"I'm not like you. This is not going to be my life." I stepped up.

"This wasn't going to be my life either. It wasn't going to be any of our lives. But it is Sam. You have a responsibility to-"

"To what, McKenly?" he stepped to me. "My father? And his crusade?" Dean stepped closer to me trying to get in between me and Sam. "If it weren't for the pictures, I wouldn't even know what my mother looks like. And what difference would it make? Even if we do find the thing that killed them, my mom, your parents…they aren't coming back." I was about to punch him, but Dean grabbed Sam's collar and shoved him against the metal of the bridge.

"Dean! Stop!" I yelled, trying to pull Dean off of Sam, but he only pushed me off. I stumbled backwards.

"Don't you ever talk about our parents like that!" he said in his face. I looked up to see a woman standing on the bridge railing.

"Dean!"

"What?" he said, looking my way. I pointed to the woman. They turned just in time to see her step off of the ledge. The three of us ran to the railing and looked over. "Where the hell did she go?" I shrugged my shoulders, and Sam couldn't tell either. Behind us, the engine turned over and the headlights came on. We all stood to the middle of the bridge.

"Who is driving your car?" Sam asked. Dean took out his keys from his pocket and dangled them in front of us. I groaned, something was definitely wrong here. The car jerked forward and began to head towards us at a full speed.

"Dean?" I asked. He looked at me and grabbed my hand, pulling us into a run. Sam pushed us along.

"Go! Go!" he shouted. The car still moved faster than we could run. Dean looked over the edge of the bridge.

"Are you crazy?!" I screamed at him.

"Hope you can swim!" he shouted. The three of us ran to the side and jumped over the railing. I lost my grip on Dean's hand and fell into the water on my own, banging my head on a rock and losing control of my senses. When I finally regained them, I swam to the surface, taking in a deep breath when I came above water. "Ken!" Dean screamed. I realized how tired I felt as I tried to stay up. but I almost went down again. "McKenly!" he screamed again and then I heard a splashing. I felt his arm wrap around my waist as he pulled me to the edge of the water. I was relieved when I hit the solid ground. I coughed up a little bit of the nasty water and laid down next to Dean, on my back, catching my breath. Dean laughed. "I'm guessing you can't swim." I threw my arm over to hit him in the arm.

"Dean?! McKenly!" Dean groaned.

"What?!"

"Hey! You guys alright?" The two of us held up an A-OK with our fingers.

"Super!" Sam laughed, relieved and moved away from the edge. Dean and I climbed our way back onto the bridge. He insisted on looking under the hood of his car, just to check it out.

"Everything alright?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, whatever she did to it, seems alright now." He slammed the hood down. "That Constance chick, what a bitch!" Dean yelled.

"Obviously she doesn't want us digging around, that's for sure. So where's the job go from here?" I shrugged. The three of us leaned against the hood, completely out of ideas. Sam sniffed the air.

"You guys smell." He stated. Dean and I looked at each other.

"We need a motel." I said, and the boys nodded. After much protest from Dean, we took the car to a near-by hotel. The three of us went in to get the room. I was nervous for anyone to go alone ever since the last time. Dean placed the card on the counter.

"One room, please." Dean, smiled through the dirt, at the clerk. The clerk picked up the card and looked at the name.

"Are you guys having a reunion or something?" I furrowed my brow.

"What do you mean?" I asked him.

"I had another guy, Burt Aframian. He came and bought out a room for the whole month." The clerk said, enthusiastically.

"Yeah, that's our dad. We're here for a cousin's wedding."

"Will you be needing that room then?" the clerk asked.

"Nah, we'll just go on over there and say hi." He told us the room number and I thanked him and stood back and walking toward the door out. When I got to the door I got down on my knees, and found a bobby pin in my hair. I quickly picked the lock, while Dean and Sam were keeping watch. I pulled the two into the room and we all looked around. There were books and scattered papers everywhere. Papers and maps pinned to the wall.

"Whoa…" Sam breathed. Dean turned on one of the lights and noticed there was a burger sitting on a table. He sniffed it and made a face. I laughed at him.

"That thing probably smells as bad as you." I told him.

"And you." He pointed out.

"Right. I call shower." I said, quickly. The two of us moved to the bathroom, but I snuck by him putting my back on the door, facing Dean. "Ha ha." I joked, smiling at him. I opened the door, went in and closed the door. I quickly took a shower and changed into clean clothes. I could hear the boys talking in the room, but I didn't strain to listen. I just wanted a relaxing shower. When I came out the boys were calling each other names, I rolled my eyes at their stupidity. As I came out, I felt Dean's hand graze across mine. I looked back only to see him close the bathroom door. I saw Sam walk over to the mirror where a picture was stuck in the frame. I looked at it from a little behind it. It was the four of us: Me, Dean, Sam, and John. It was winter and we were all bundled up in jackets and hats. John was holding Dean and Dean had an arm around my shoulders. I smiled.

"I remember that." I said to Sam. He looked back at me and nodded. "I wonder who was taking the picture." I thought. Sam shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm sorry about what I said, Ken." He said, not looking from the picture. I shrugged.

"Don't worry about it." I waved it off, turning to sit on the bed, against the headboard. Sam put the picture in his pocket and faced me sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Really. That was crap of me."

"I said it was okay Sam. I'm not all for these heart-to-hearts." I said, smiling. Sam laughed to himself.

"Alright. We good?" I nodded, laying my head down on the pillow and closing my eyes. I didn't realize how tired I was as I quickly fell asleep.

I woke up to the sound of my cell phone ringing. I pulled it out of my pocket and answered it.

"Hello?" I said, groggily.

"McKenly, wake up. There are cops out here, take off." I said up and rubbed my eyes. Sam was still on the edge of the bed with his phone up to his ear.

"What about you?" I asked. "I won't leave you."

"I'll be fine. They already spotted me. Take Sam. Go find my dad."

"Dean…"

"Just do it, alright?" I nodded, even though he couldn't see me. I was about to agree, but before I could, the line went dead. I groaned, getting up to look out the window.

"What was that?" Sam asked. I saw Dean was talking to the deputies and cursed.

"Five-oh. We gotta go."

"What about Dean?" he asked.

"I'll figure something out." I grabbed my bag and pulled him up. "Now, let's go." I said, opening the window to climb out. Sam and I waited until the cops were gone and went around the building to get to the Impala. I got in the driver's seat and drove away from the motel. "So what was all that all over the walls?" I asked Sam.

"It was the case. Dad figured out that Constance was the woman in white. It's a spirit that comes back to haunt those men who were unfaithful."

"Do you think that Connie's husband was unfaithful?"

"Only one way to find out." I nodded. Sam found out where he lives and that was where I drove to. We got there and I knocked on the door.

"Hi." I said. "Are you Joseph Welch?"

"Yeah." He said.

"Do you mind if we ask you a few questions?" he shook his head, and stepped outside of his house.

"Have you seen this man?" Sam asked, pulling out the picture that we found at the motel.

"Yeah, he was older, but that's him." He handed Sam back the photo. "He came by maybe three or four days ago. Said he was a reporter."

"That's right." I chimed in. "We're all working on a story together."

"Well, I don't know what the hell kinda story you're working on." Joseph grumbled, shaking his head. "The questions he asked me…" he trailed off.

"About your late wife, Constance?" I asked softly. The man thought, thinking about to his interview with John.

"He asked me where she was buried."

"And where is that again?" Sam asked, I shot him a look telling him to back off.

"What? I gotta go through this twice?" I rolled my eyes at Sam who had pushed things too far.

"He's only checking facts. We need to make sure that we get the same accurate information." Joseph nodded, taking my excuse as truth.

"In a plot. She's buried behind my old place over on Breckenridge." I nodded.

"Can I ask why you moved." I could tell things were starting to get very emotional for the man.

"I'm…I couldn't live in the house where my children died." The three of us stopped walking.

"Mr. Welch," I started, "did you ever marry again?" he shook his head.

"No way. Constance, she was the love of my life. She was the prettiest woman I ever known."

"So the two of you, you had a happy marriage?" I inferred, but Joseph panicked and hesitated.

"Definitely." I smiled at him.

"Well, that should do it. Thank you for your time, Mr. Welch." I pulled Sam to the Impala so that he wouldn't say anything else stupid. Joseph started to walk back to his house. I parted from Sam to go to our separate sides of the car. Then I saw the look on his face. "Sam, don't." I whispered.

"Mr. Welch?" Joseph turned around to face us.

"Sam…" I warned.

"Did you ever hear of a woman in white?"

"A what?" the man asked.

"A woman in white. Or sometimes a weeping woman?" Joseph didn't say anything. "It's a ghost story. Well, it's more of a phenomenon, really." He walked closer to Joseph. I just leaned against the car, with my arms crossed over my chest. He was too far into it to stop now. "Um, they're spirits. They've been sighted for hundreds of years, dozens of places, in Hawaii, Mexico, lately Arizona, Indiana. All these are different women." Sam stopped standing in front of Mr. Welch. "You understand. But they all share the same story."

"Boy I don't care much for nonsense." Joseph started to walk away, but Sam only followed him.

"Seem when they were alive, their husbands were unfaithful to them." Joseph stopped. "And these women, basically suffering from temporary insanity, murdered their children. "Joseph turned around with an angry look on his face. "Then once they realized what they had done, they took their own lives. So now their spirits are cursed, walking back roads, waterways. And if they find an unfaithful man, they kill him. And that man is never seen again."

"You think…" Joseph started. "You think that this has something to do with Constance? You smartass!" I sighed.

"You tell me." I shook my head at Sam's stubbornness.

"I mean, maybe…maybe I made some mistakes. But no matter what I did, Constance, she never would have killed her own children. Now, you get the hell out of here! And you don't come back!" Joseph shook his head, angry and grief-stricken. He turned away and stalked into his house. Sam made his way back to the passenger side of the car and the both of us got in.

"That was risky, Sammy." I told him starting the car.

"I got the information, didn't I?" I nodded.

"Yes, but that guy is a person. And you just beat the crap outta his emotions. You coulda been a little nicer to him."

"If I were nicer, I wouldn't have found out that he had been unfaithful to Constance. Then we wouldn't have proof that she was who is killing those men." I rolled my eyes and pulled out of Joseph Welch's driveway. "We need to get Dean outta there. We need him." I nodded.

"Call in a fake 911. He'll get himself outta there."

"Are you sure?"

"You're willing to emotionally destroy a person but you can't prank call the cops. Damn, Sammy." I smiled at him. He made the call and I continued to drive back into town. We drove for about ten minutes before my cell phone rang. I smiled and answered it.

"Hi, Dean."

"I am such a bad influence on you. Fake 911 calls are pretty illegal." I laughed.

"It was Sammy who made the call. I just came up with the idea. Figured you could get yourself outta there."

"You're smart, Ken. I gotta hand it to you. But we gotta talk.

"Alright well, talk to Sam. You want me to crash your car?"

"No, Ken, wai-" I handed the phone to Sam and he filled Dean in on everything that went on over at the Welch residence. Dean told him about his father's journal and how John wasn't in Jericho anymore, but he left coordinates for us.

"Where to?" Sam asked. There was a short pause for Dean's answer. "I don't understand. I mean, what could be so important that Dad would just skip out in the middle of a job? Dean, what the hell is going on?" Out of nowhere Constance appeared in front of me. "Ken!" Sam screamed. I slammed on the brakes and Sam dropped the phone. I drove right through her as the car went to a halt. Sam and I were both breathing heavily. I looked in the rearview mirror and jumped when I saw her sitting here.

"Take me home."


	5. five

I looked back to see that Constance was still sitting back there. I was afraid to do anything. We weren't sure how she acted towards females and Sam was never unfaithful, from what I knew anyway. He would never do that. I started to breathe heavily, but kept it as quiet as I could so that she would just leave us alone. We hadn't ever done anything bad to a person. Well, human at least. I was never unfaithful either at least to the one guy I had ever had sex with.

"Take me home!" she said, angrily.

"No." I said. Sam agreed. Constance just glared at me through the rearview. I heard the door lock, and quickly turned my head to see the truth myself. We were locked in the car. Sam was trying to get the door open, but it was like the lock just kept slipping through his feelings. Constance's spirit flickered in the back seat. "You bitch, just let us go." I said, through my teeth. Then she took control of the car and it started to move. She drove us back to her house. Sam and I tried to fight our way out of the car the best that we could, but to no avail. The car shut off as well as the lights.

"Don't do this." Sam ordered, as Constance flickered again.

"I can never go home." She said, sadly.

"You're scared to go home." I pointed out. We turned back to see that Constance wasn't there anymore. I let out a sigh and as soon as I did, the door opened and I was flung out of it and into the yard. I hit something and I wasn't sure what but it knocked me out. When I came to, Dean was standing over me, holding a two shot guns. He picked me off the ground. "She's got Sam."

"I know. Ken, are you okay?" I nodded.

"Just get Sam." He handed me a shot gun, and I regained my balance. Dean shot at Constance through the window, shattering it. I saw her glare at him and then disappear. I heard Dean, sigh in relief that she had stopped hurting him. I saw that she reappeared and I quickly fired at her myself, just willing to get the son of a bitch. The last time I shot, Sam sat up and started the car. He accelerated quickly and went through the side of the house. I looked to Dean, who looked pissed, but scared for his brother's life. We ran into the house and made sure Sam was okay. Dean asked Sam if he could move as he helped him out of the window. Constance picked up a photograph. From her side I could see that it was her and two kids, who I assumed where her children. The slam of the car door took Constance from her trance. She threw me back again, this time I landed on the wall.

"Ken!" Dean yelled. I groaned as, I tried to get up, but my leg was cut pretty bad on a broken chair. Constance made a dresser slide across the floor and pin Sam and Dean to the Impala.

"Dean!" I yelled in obvious pain. I whimpered as I touched it. I tried to get up again, but only fell back down. The lights started to flicker and I heard the sound of water. I furrowed my brow to see water running down the stairs through the darkness. At the top of the stairs there were two young children holding hands.

"You've come home to us, Mommy." They said. Talk about creepy. Constance looks at them. I could see the guilt that she had in her eyes. I blinked my eyes and the children disappeared from the stairs only to reappear behind her. The two children hugged her and Constance began to scream. The lights flickered more intensely as Constance's screams got louder. The two children as well as their mother disappeared into a puddle on the floor. Once they realized that the spirits were gone, Sam and Dean pushed the dresser off of them. Dean ran over to me and pushed my hair out of my face.

"McKenly, are you okay?" He asked, in a panic. I squeezed my eyes shut, shaking my head, pointing to my leg. "Can you walk?" I shrugged.

"I haven't been able to get up." He helped me up by putting an arm under my shoulder. I tested my leg out and found that I could walk on it, if I limped. I groaned. "This is not the job that can handle a handicap."

"You'll be fine." He smirked. "We'll patch it up when we get the car outta here." I nodded. We convened around the place where Constance and her children disappeared.

"So this is where she drowned her kids?" I asked, and Sam nodded.

"That's why she could never go home." He explained. "She was too afraid to face them and what she had done."

"You found her weak spot. Nice work, Sammy." Dean congratulated, slapping Sam on the chest where Constance had hurt him. Sam laughed through the pain and I just laughed at him. Dean came over to me so I could lean on him to walk to the car.

"Yeah, I wish I could say the same for you. What were you thinking shooting Casper in the face, you freak?"

"Hey! It saved your ass." Sam nodded. Dean leaned over the car, letting me lean against it. I'll tell you another thing: If you screwed up my car…" Dean turned to face Sam, "I'll kill you." Sam and I laughed at him. Dean climbed in the driver's seat and had Sam help him back out to cause as little damage as possible. It took us about half an hour to get it out of the house. I stood on the porch, waiting for the guys to get it out.

"Took you long enough!" I shouted to Dean. He smiled at me and ran up the steps.

"You try backing a car out of a house." I looked down at the stairs and groaned. Dean followed my gaze and a playful smirk came to his face. I looked at him warily wondering what in the world he could be thinking.

"Dean…?" He came closer to me and wrapped an arm around my waist and threw me over his shoulder. I laughed at him. "Dean! I coulda gotten down those steps by myself." Dean shook his head. "Watch the leg, would ya?"

"You're too tense, Ken." I laughed.

"Yeah, well it's not like we have the money to pay for a professional massage." I paused. "And before you even think about it, you're hands will not be touching my body in that way." Dean laughed.

"You know me too well."

"Don't I know it." He placed me in the backseat of the car through the passenger side. I thanked him and pushed myself into the seat more, so Dean could join me in the back. Sam sat in the passenger seat and pulled the first aid kit and a map from the glove compartment. I put my hurt leg over Dean's lap and he quickly patched it up. Hurt like hell when he poured the alcohol over it to clean it up.

"Sorry." He apologized. I shook my head.

"It's her fault." I said, flicking my head towards the house.

"Okay, here's here Dad went." He said, pointing to a spot on the map. "It's called Blackwater Ridge, Colorado." Dean nodded, wrapping the gauze around my leg. I winced when he tightened it.

"Sounds charming. How far?" Dean asked.

"About six hundred miles." Dean nodded to Dean, thinking.

"Hey, if we shag ass we could make it by morning." Sam looked back at him, hesitating, but smiling.

"Dean, I…um," Dean taped the gauze down to his leg. I took a look at the Sam's facial expression.

"He's not coming, Dean." I said, looking down at my leg. Dean looked at me for a second and then back to Sam.

"The interview is in like, ten hours. I gotta be there." Dean nodded. I saw the look on his face and he was disappointed. He got up and put my leg in his place. He got in the driver's seat.

"Alright then. Let's get you home." I could tell how upset he was. Dean missed his brother. He wanted him to come with us. But I knew that he wouldn't because he doesn't want this life. I placed one of my hands on Dean's shoulders to comfort him. He looked in the rear view mirror at me. I made a one-sided smile which he returned as he drove away from the old Welch house. I dropped my hand and put my head against the window, leaning against it. I stared out the window at everything that passed by quickly. It all turned into a blur as I slowly dozed off to sleep.

"Ken." I heard. I opened my eyes to see Sam, shaking my unhurt knee. "Hey, we're almost there." I had slid down so that I was laying on the back seat. I sat up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. Ten minutes later, Dean pulled up to the apartment. He still had a sour look on his face. I sighed and pulled myself into the front seat. Sam leaned over into the window. "Call me if you find him?" I crossed my arms over my chest and nodded to him. Dean nodded, too. "And maybe I can meet up with you later, huh? Get another gig. The three of us. Maybe four of us. It'll be like when we were little." Sam smiled. Dean and I didn't. I was bitter that Sam was just gonna leave us again, but Dean was only upset. I couldn't answer.

"Yeah, alright." Dean said, not looking back at Sam. I bit my lip to keep from saying anything that I would regret. Sam pat the car door and turned away up to the house. Dean leaned over closer to me, with a hand on the seat next to me. "Sam?" Dean called. Sam turned back around, and I looked up at Dean to watch him as he decided what he was going to say. "You know, we made a hell of a team back there." He said. I smiled, and put my hand on his. He looked down at it and smiled back at me.

"Yeah, we did." I looked back at Sam and his apartment and got a weird feeling. Dean drove off, but kept his hand under my hand. He let out a breath.

"Guess it's just you and me again." I nodded, staring out the windshield "Unless, you wanna go to…?" He said. I smiled at him and shook my head. "Good." I nodded.

"I like this life." The feeling I had just a moment ago, sunk deep into my stomach. "Dean, could you drive back around. I'm not feeling to well. Something's wrong." Dean nodded and quickly did a U-turn.

"You alright, Ken?" He asked, with worry in his voice. I nodded. "What is it then?" I shook my head, not knowing.

"I just have a weird feeling. And I think that it might have something to do with Sam." Dean set straight for Sam's apartment and the two of us got out looking at it.

"Are you sure about this feeling, Ken?" He asked, trying to be sure. "I don't wanna bust in on my little brother banging his girl. Talk about sights that you just can't un-see." I shook my head, laughing to myself.

"You think that I would wanna see that? God, I spent so much time with the kid, he's more like my brother now." Dean and I walked up to the apartment. I leaned down and started to work on picking the lock.

"What about me?" He asked. I furrowed my brow in confusion. " I mean, you spend a lot of time with me, too. Am I like a brother to you?"

"Nah, you're more my best friend than a brother." He gave me a look. I shook my head getting back to the lock. "I don't know. It's complicated, Dean. We've known each other since we were kids. I know everything about you." Before Dean could respond, we heard Sam scream. I threw the door open and ran towards the stairs. Dean was faster though since I had a hurt leg, but I pushed through it and stayed closely behind him. We burst through the door to see Sam on the bed screaming up at the ceiling. We followed his eyes up and I saw that Jess was burning on the ceiling. I stood there in awe, not knowing what to do. I stared up, unaware of the things around me and suddenly Jess turned into my parents and I was three years old again. I watched as my parents were burning up, their skin bubbling against the fire, just like my accident on the last case. I felt my own arm burn, but I couldn't move to make it feel better. I didn't notice when Dean pushed Sam out the door and down the stairs. I didn't notice him coming back up for me, shaking me to get my attention. I didn't notice him pick me up and throw me over his shoulder, running down the stairs and out of the house, pushing Sam with his other arm. Next thing that I knew the three of us were outside. Dean had placed me in the back seat of the car with the door open. He kneeled down in front of me, trying to get me to say something, but I was still watching as the fire came out the window. I kept seeing my parents screaming at me to help them. But I couldn't help them.

"McKenly!" he screamed, shaking my shoulder, harder this time. He paused and just looked at me. I felt his hand on my face and it wiped away a tear. My eyes caught his.

"Dean?" my voice cracked. I was crying. I lifted my own hand to my face and wiped away another. He grabbed my shoulder and pulled me into him, hugging me. "What the hell just happened?" I asked, fighting my sobs.

"It was him, Ken. The thing that killed our parents. It killed Jess." He pulled away with his hands on my shoulders. I shook my head, pushing him out of my way and standing up from the car. I walked over to what was now a crime scene. I walked straight there, not looking at anything but that room. Dean followed me. We approached the caution tape and I was tempted to go under it an run up to that room. I didn't know why and I didn't know what was telling me to, but it was strong. Dean had a hand on my elbow probably knowing what I'd do. Eventually, I blocked that urge from my mind and leaned into Dean. His arm went around my shoulders and mine went under his jacket around his back. He kissed my head and moved to whisper in my ear.

"What happened up there, Ken?" I shrugged. "Come on, don't give me that shit. You could fool Sam with that but not me. I knew you too well." I sighed.

"It was them on that ceiling all over again. I didn't see Jess. I saw my parents." Dean's arm tightened around my shoulders. "They just kept screaming at me, begging me to help them. but I couldn't move." He turned us back to go to the Impala. I stayed latched to him, not wanting to let him go.

"We'll find whatever it is." He said, comfortingly. I nodded. "There was nothing you could have done, Ken. You were three."

"I know."

"In the meantime, you've got your best friend to protect you."

"You don't need to protect me, Dean."

"No, I know. But I want to." I looked up to see that Dean was smiling at me. I nodded and looked back to the Impala to see Sam loading a shot gun. I thought that it was a little risky for him to be doing that with the cops right there, but Sam wasn't in his right state of mind.

"How is he?" Dean shook his head. I guessed he didn't now.

"He won't talk about it."

"I feel terrible." Dean nodded.

"We gotta get some sleep. You and Sam especially."

"I agree. We should stop somewhere. Sam probably wants to stay for the funeral. You think we could spring that?" Dean nodded again. The two of us joined Sam at the trunk of the car. He finished loading his gun and dropped it in the mess.

"We got work to do." Sam said, before shutting the trunk.

"And we agree. But, Sam we all need some sleep. It's been a long day." He looked to Dean, not wanting to stay.

"And we can stay for a few days. You can stop by her grave, maybe go to the funeral." His eyes met mine and I practically begged him without saying anything. He let out a sigh.

"Alright." The three of us climbed in the car. Sam let me sit next to Dean in the front. He drove with one hand on the wheel and the other arm around my shoulders. I tucked myself into him, laying my head down. I could feel Sam's eyes on us, but I didn't care. I need comfort from him. He drove to the closest cheapest motel we could find.

As soon as we got a room, I changed quickly and threw myself onto a bed. I looked around the room and noticed Sam on the other bed with his Dad's journal. Dean was checked around making sure that everything was locked tight. When he was done, he looked at me questioningly. I figured he was asking if I wanted him with me. I nodded and moved the sheets from the other side of the bed out of the way for him. We both ignored Sam's confused look as I turned by back to him. Dean laid down next to me and did the same, turning back from Sam. I felt his breath on my neck and focused on it until I drifted to sleep.


	6. six

That night neither of us got any sleep, especially Sam. Every time I woke up through the night, I saw him sitting on his bed. He had his dad's journal still in his lap, trying to make sense of it. I would tell him to go to sleep. He would grumble in response. And Dean would pull me back under the covers. But now it's been a little over a week since the fire. California was far behind in our rearview mirror. I was sitting in the front, following a map so we knew where we were headed. Sam jerked in the backseat and I saw him wake up. He blinked a few times and rubbed his eyes.

"You okay?" Dean asked, generally considered for his brother. I smiled at his sensitivity. Sam looking in the mirror and back to out the window.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Dean nodded. I knew he didn't believe it.

"Another nightmare?" I asked, face still in the map. Sam didn't say anything but he didn't need to. Dean and I already knew the answer to that.

"You wanna drive for a while?" I smiled at his gesture. Sam laughed.

"Dean, your whole life you never once asked me that." Dean shrugged.

"Just thought that you might want to. Never mind then." He said.

"Look, guys, you're worried about me. I get it, and thank you. Really, but I'm perfectly okay." I looked back at him. I opened my mouth to say something, but he stopped me. "Ken, I'm fine." I gave him a look saying that we'd talk later. He nodded and took the map from me. "Alright. Where are we?" he asked.

"We are just outside of Grand Junction." Sam folded the Colorado map to show the coordinates we were given.

"You know what? Maybe we shouldn't have left Stanford so soon." I knew that was coming.

"Sam, we dug around there for a week." I told him. "We swept the place clean and we couldn't find anything. If you wanna find the thing that killed Jessica-"

"We gotta find Dad first, I know." Sam interrupted.

"John, disappearing, and then this son of a bitch coming back after twenty years…" I trailed off. "This doesn't just happen." I said to the two of them. Dean looked at me for a second.

"Dad will have the answers. He will know what to do." Sam looked at the map.

"Guys, it's weird. These coordinates he left us. Blackwater Ridge." I looked at him, with my eyebrows furrowed. "There's nothing there. It's just woods." I asked for the map back and he returned it. "Why would Dad send us to the middle of nowhere?" I shrugged.

"Maybe the gig is in the middle of nowhere." I suggested. About three hours later we pulled up to a ranger station of the Lost Creek National Forest. There was a three-dimensional model of the entire forest. I leaned over to look at it. "Whoa." I said, Dean came up behind me.

"No kidding." Sam came over to us and looked for himself.

"It looks like Blackwater Ridge is confined to this area here." He said. "It's cut off by these canyons, terrain, forests, and gold and silver mines." Dean got bored with all of Sam's forest talk. He went over to a framed photo of a man with a bear.

"Dude, check out the size of this friggin bear." Sam and I looked at each other and shook our heads. I rolled my eyes at Dean, but we joined him.

"There are also a dozen or more grizzlies in that area." Sam responded. "It's no nature hike, that's for sure. I heard footsteps behind us and turned to see a ranger. The boys didn't hear him so when he spoke they were startled.

"You boys aren't planning on goin gout near Blackwater Ridge by any chance?" I shook my head.

"No, sir. We're environmental study majors from UC Boulder, just working on a paper for our class." Sam laughed a little bit at my cover. Dean smiles, probably proud.

"Recycle, man." Dean said. I rolled my eyes at him.

"Bull." The ranger said. I laughed.

"Excuse me?" Dean met my eyes, but didn't move.

"You are friends of that Haley girl, aren't ya?" Dean thought about it looking at me. I shrugged slightly.

"Yes, yes, we are, Ranger…Wilkinson."

"I will tell you exactly what I told her." Ranger said. "Her brother filled out a backcountry permit saying that he would be out there until the twenty-forth. You can't file a missing person's if his whereabouts are known." Dean nodded his head, agreeing. "You tell that girl to quit worrying. I'm sure that her brother's just fine."

"We will." I said.

"Well, that Haley girl's quite a pistol, huh?" it took everything that I could muster not to shoot him a glare. "Actually, what would help us convince her is if I could show her a copy of that permit. You know, so we could show her when her brother's return date is." The ranger eyed Dean and then look to me. I sighed.

"It would set her mind at ease." I said, going along with his stupid plan, even though I didn't want to. I knew exactly what he would be looking for with her. The ranger nodded to me.

"I'll be right back." The ranger said as he went to make a copy. He left the three of us alone in an awkward silence. I took a look at Dean and saw the look on his face. As soon as I the ranger mentioned a girl I knew he'd weasel his way in somehow I rolled my eyes and stalked out of the station and to the car. I leaned against it and ran a hand through my hair. I didn't understand how Dean could hear female and go running. It was frustrating. What was worse is that I was letting it get to me. It never had before. He was my best friend. It was hard for me to be mad at him. He's just been really pig-headed. A minute later, Sam followed me out on his own, leaving Dean to wait for the copy. He joined me, leaning against the car.

"How you doin', Sam?" I asked him. He smiled and shook his head.

"I'm fine. But I didn't come out here to talk about me." I looked to him, confused. "What's going on with you and Dean?" I furrowed my brow.

"W-what are you talking about?" he smiled at my lie. "There isn't anything going on."

"Come on, Ken. You know what I'm talking about. I mean, the whispering, the hand-holding, the… he thought. "…sleeping together without sleeping together. I have never seen Dean do that." He said. I blushed and bit my lip. I did not want to discuss my relationship with Dean. Especially when I didn't know what our relationship was.

"We just comfort each other, Sam. It's nothing more than that." He looked at me, but I kept my gaze forward. "It's really hard out here, Sam. Half the time I'm wishing I have a stable home and the other half I'm loving what I do. And then our parents gone. Your dad missing. We cheer each other up."

"You don't get that annoyed at a guy talking about girls unless you want more than what you have." He said. I looked at him. "You wish you had more." I noticed that he didn't pose it as a question. How could he know that if I didn't even know that? My eye flashed to the station when I heard the door close. I felt an involuntary smile form on my lips when I saw him smiling. Sam bumped with his hip and I grumbled at him.

"If you say one word, I will feed you to whatever we come across next." I said pointing my finger into his chest. He slid away from me with his hands in the air. "When did you get so smart?" Dean walked over to us, looking between us, confused. He shook it off, holding up the permit.

"Got it." Dean said. "Let's go find her." I could tell he was a little excited. I shook my head and tried not to let it get to me. Sam looked to me, smiled, and looked at Dean again.

"Are you, uh, looking for a hook-up or something?" he asked Dean. My eyes went wide when the question clicked in my brain.

"What do you mean?"

"The coordinates point to Blackwater Ridge, so what are we waiting for? Let's go find Dad. This girl doesn't know anything we wouldn't. we really don't need to talk to her. Unless…" He trailed off and I glared at him. Sam walked around to the other side of the car, ignoring my stare. I decided to choose the backseat.

"No." He said, quickly avoiding my eyes in the rearview, something he's never done. "I don't know. Maybe we should know what we're walking into before we walk into it?" There was a silence as we gathered into the car. "Since when are you all 'shoot first, ask questions later,' anyway?" Sam shrugged.

"Since now." He responded, turning his head to look at me. Dean caught this and looked at me through the rearview mirror. He looked confused. As I looked from his back to Sam I shrugged, now avoiding him. He shook his head and drove away from the ranger station and to the address on the camping permit. When we arrived at the Collins' house, Sam and Dean walked to the door and I followed behind them. Dean knocked and we waited patiently until Haley opened the door. Dean smiled and I did my best not to roll my eye.

"You must be Haley Collins." Dean inferred. "I'm Dean, this is Sam and McKenly. We're uh…" I rolled my eyes and stepped forward.

"We're rangers with the Park Service. Ranger Wilkinson sent us over. We're here to ask you a few questions about your brother, Tommy." I said, confidently. Haley hesitated though.

"Let me see some ID." She ordered. I nodded and reached into my jacket pocket. I pulled out a green colored ID with too small print and a fake name. I showed it to her through the screen. Haley looked at it and back to the boys behind me. Dean showed a charming smile and I had an urge to punch him. Haley reached to open the door. "Come on in." she said.

"Thanks." Dean smiled. I bit my tongue. Once Dean was inside, Haley leaned around me to see outside.

"Is that your car?" she asked, noticing the Impala. Dean turned to face her.

"Yeah." I kept my gaze on Haley while Sam's moved to the Impala.

"Nice car." She said. She led Dean, Sam and I into the kitchen where another boy was sitting on a laptop. Dean mouthed something to Sam when Haley had her back turned, but I didn't catch it. I figured it was something about Haley, so I decided to get back to the case.

"So if Tommy's not due back for a while, how do you know that there's something wrong?" Haley came in with a bowl in her hand, placing it in front of the boy.

"He checks in everyday by cell." She said, simply. "He emails, photos, stupid little videos… Now we haven't heard anything in over three days now." I nodded.

"Maybe he can't get any cell reception." She smiled at my digging.

"He's got a satellite phone, too."

"Maybe he's having too much fun. Forgot to check in." Dean suggested. I sighed. The other boy turned to face him.

"He wouldn't do that." He said to Dean. Dean eyed him until the boy looked away. Haley put another plate of food on the table.

"Our parents are gone." Haley said. "It's only me, Tommy and Ben now. We all keep pretty close tabs on each other." She put her hands on Ben's shoulders.

"Can I see the pictures he sent you?" Sam asked her. Haley nodded, leading Sam to the computer. I sat down next to Ben. Dean and Sam gathered around the computer.

"Is that the last time you've heard from your brother?" I asked him. He nodded. I could tell that he was upset about his missing brother. I put my hand over his. He stopped moving around on his computer. "We're gonna do all that we can to find your brother." He looked up at me and nodded. I felt eyes on me but I didn't bother to look who it was, but the feeling went away when Dean spoke.

"We'll find your brother. We're heading out to Blackwater Ridge first thing in the morning."

"Maybe we'll see you there." We all turned to Haley. "I can't just sit around here anymore. So I hired a guy. I'm heading out in the morning, and I'm gonna find Tommy myself."

"Haley, I'm not so su-" I started but Dean interrupted me.

"I think I know how you feel." Him and I had a stare down until Sam spoke to Haley.

"Hey, do you mind forwarding these to me?" he asked. She nodded and moved back over to the computer to do so.

Later, the three of us went to a bar to score some money playing pool and get a beer. I needed one that's for sure. We sat down at a table and Sam pulls out John's journal. I groaned at the sight, really only wanting to relax and get so drunk. I grabbed my beer and took a long swig of it.

"So, Blackwater Ridge doesn't get a lot of traffic. Local campers, mostly. But still, this past April, two hikers went missing out there. They were never found." I shook my head and slammed my bottle on the table.

"Sam, please. Do we have to do this? Now?" I begged. "I need, like, eight drinks." Sam smiled and shook his head, but continued anyway.

"Then in 1982, eight different people vanished all within a year. The police are blaming on a grizzly attack." I finished my first beer quickly.

"Ah, but it never is." He pulled out a bunch of newspaper clippings, followed by his laptop.

"Of course not. Because it happened before in 1959 and 1938." Sam opened his laptop to one of the videos that Haley gave us of Tommy. "Every twenty-three years. Like clockwork."

"This is looking more like our kinda thing every second." Dean told Sam. I scoffed. _No shit._ I thought._ Why else would your dad give us these coordinates._

"Just wait. This is one of the videos from Haley. Check this out." Sam clicked through a few frames of it. Dean leaned in to see, but I was too busy with the last of my second beer.

"Do it again." Dean ordered. He did. "McKenly, look at this." He pulled the laptop over to me and clicked through the frames. I rolled my eyes at him ordering me around. But I watched anyway.

"What is it?" I asked. Sam shrugged.

"I don't know. But that's three frames. A fraction of a second. Whatever it is, its fast."

"Well, it's our kinda thing." I said, asking for another beer. Dean eyed me and opened his mouth to speak but Sam closed his laptop and spoke first.

"One more thing." He said, putting a newspaper down in between us. "In '59, one of the campers survived. He was just a kid. Barely crawled out alive." Dean picked up the paper.

"Is there a name?" Sam nodded. "Alright, we'll check him out. Work on finding an address." He looked to me again. "Ken, don't you think that you should slow down." I shook my head.

"Hell, no! I earned this money. If I wanna spend it, I can." Dean groaned, stood up and took my drink from me. "Hey! That's mine!" Dean shook his head.

"Not anymore." He said, simply. He grabbed my arm and put me over his shoulder.

"Put me down, Dean!" I said, hitting his back. Someone came over and asked up if everything was okay. Dean made an excuse.

"Sorry about her. It's my girlfriend. She had a little too much to drink. I'm gonna get her home."

"I've hardly had anything to drink!" I shouted at him. I tried to look at Sam. "Sam?" I saw him show a smile.

"Seriously, Ken. You've got a problem. I groaned, fighting Dean as he carried me out of the bar and to the car. He set me down. Sam had stayed back in the bar.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I asked him.

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you? You're giving me the cold shoulder. You're drinking more than usual. You're-"

"What's your point, Dean?" I demanded glaring at him. He sighed.

"I saw you hold that kid's hand." I rolled my eyes.

"I was comforting him." I stressed. "His brother is missing. If you can remember. I've done the same for you ever since John disappeared. And he is just that, Dean. A kid. You seemed to be making eyes at the girl anyway." I yelled at him. I stopped to breathe. He just looked at me with his big green eyes. I sighed. "What would you care anyway?" He looked away.

"You know, believe it or not, I care about you, Ken." I scoffed. "I sleep in the same bed at you because I care about you. you think that I do that for me?" I didn't answer. "I don't want you to be scared or have bad dreams. When I got to that house back in Jericho, and I saw you passed out…" He shook his head, unable to find the right words to say. "I don't know. I'm just very protective of you."

"I don't need to be protected." I said, between my teeth. "I may be a year younger than you, but I know just as much as you. I grew up just as fast as you did. I can take care of myself."

"Then why are you still here?" He said, angrily. I was really taken aback by this. I took a step away from him and fought the tears that were stinging my eyes. His hard face didn't change. "Why are you here if you don't want to be protected and taken care of?" I bit my lip.

"Because you, Sam and John are all that I have. My voice cracked when I spoke through the tears. Finally, his face softened. "We're a family, Dean." I shook my head at him. "I thought that mean something to you." The tears were only slowly falling but I was more angry now. Dean opened his mouth to speak, but then the bar's door closed and we turned to see Sam coming out. I dried my tears on the sleeve of my jacket before he joined us.

"I found the guy's address." He said, standing between us. He looked between us. Dean's eyes were on mine, but I looked away from both of them. No one answered, so I moved to the passenger side of the car. As I moved I spoke out loud.

"After this case, you won't have to protect me anymore. I'll get out of your way" I got in the back seat and stared out the window, crossing my arms over my chest.

"What did you do?" Sam asked Dean. Dean didn't say anything. He only got in the car, quietly and started it.

* * *

Episode 2! Here we go! Thanks for all the reviews.


	7. seven

The car ride over to the man's house was more silent than ever. I don't think it's been this quiet since we got Sam. The silence was deafening. I hated it. I couldn't wait to get away from it. To get away from Dean.

The man let us in after we introduced ourselves as rangers. We said we wanted to talk to him about the night he was attacked.

"Look, rangers, I don't know why you're asking me about this." He said, with a cigarette in his mouth. "I was a kid. That was forty-six years ago. My parents got mauled by a-"

"Grizzly?" Sam interrupted. "That's what attacked them?" Shaw took a draw out of his cigarette and nodded.

"The other people that went missing that year, too? Were they bear attacks?" Why was he grilling this guy so hard? The man couldn't answer. "What about all the people that went missing this year? Same thing?" I stepped in front of Dean and sat in a chair next to Shaw.

"Mr. Shaw," I started. "if we knew what we were dealing with, we might be able to stop it." Shaw stared at me for a moment before shaking his head.

"I seriously doubt it. It wouldn't make a difference." He put out his cigarette. "You wouldn't believe me. no one ever did."

"Trust me, sir, I believe in a lot of things." I said, sincerely. "What did you see?" Shaw thought.

"N-nothing. I mean, it moved too fast." He stumbled for words. "I couldn't see it. It was a roar. I'd never heard anything like it before."

"It came at night?" Sam asked. Shaw nodded in response. "Got inside your tent?" Shaw shook his head.

"Our cabin. I was asleep in front of the fireplace when it came in. there was no window smah or door broken in. The thing unlocked the friggin' door. Do you know of a bear that could so something like that? Thing didn't even wake up me. Not until I heard my parents scream." Shaw recalled.

"Did it kill then?" I asked, earning a head shake from the man.

"I dragged them into the night." Shaw shook his head not believing even what he was saying. "Why did It leave me? I've been asking myself ever since." Shaw's hand went to his collar. "Did leave me this though." He pulled his shirt down a little. Three claw marks were scarred clear across his chest. "There is something evil back in those woods. It was some sort of demon." I nodded.

"Thank you for your time, Mr. Shaw. We'll see ourselves out." I said, standing up. the old man grabbed my arm to stop me. The boys stepped forward, but I saw Shaw wasn't going to do anything to hurt me, so I held my hand up and they stood back.

"You really think you can catch the damn thing?" I nodded.

"Catch it and kill it." I promised. We let ourselves out of his house and returned to the car silently. I didn't say anything. I only stared out the windows. Dean and Sam bounced ideas off of each other.

"Spirits and demons don't need to unlock doors." Dean stated. "If they want inside they just go through the walls."

"Okay…" Sam started, "so, it's probably something else. Something corporeal." Well, at least he got something outta that college education.

"Corporeal? Excuse me, professor." Dean joked. I shook my head at him, but didn't say anything.

"Shut up. So what do you think?" Dean let out a breath, thinking.

"The claws. The speed that it moves. The thing could be a skinwalker, maybe a black dog. We're talking about a creature, and it's corporeal. Which means we kill it." Sam nodded.

"What about you, Ken?" Sam asked, turning in his seat to face me. I didn't look away from the window.

"I don't know. I just wanna kill the damn thing." No one said anything after that and Sam turned back around. Dean drove to the next motel. We got out and stood at the trunk to make a bag for tomorrow's adventure. Dean grabbed an empty duffel bag for us to put the stuff in. I helped load a few things in it. Sam stood back though and didn't help.

"I've been thinking…" He started. "I don't think we can let that Haley girl go out there." Frankly, I agreed, only to keep Dean away from her. But I did see her side and knew she wouldn't listen to us.

"Oh, yeah?" Dena questioned. "What exactly are we gonna tell her? That she can't go into the woods because of a big scary monster?" I sighed, grabbed my bag of clothes, and turned to lean against the car to watch them fight.

"Yeah." Sam stated and I laughed. He only moved to glare at me.

"No offense, Sam, but I don't think she'll believe us, let alone listen." Dean looked from me to Sam.

"Her brother is missing. You heard her. She won't sit this one out. Now if we go with her, we can protect her, and keep our eyes peeled for our fuzzy predator friend." Dean picked up the duffel and I pushed myself off the car.

"Is find Dad not enough?" Sam slammed the compartment and then the trunk. "Now we gotta babysit, too?" I noticed Dean glare at Sam. "What?" Sam questioned. Dan shook his head at his brother.

"Nothing." He responded. Dean threw the bag to Sam and walked towards the lobby to get us a room. Sam and I stared after him.

"What do you think about Haley going?" I looked to him but his eyes were still pointed in Dean's direction.

"I think she reminds me a lot of Dean, unfortunately. She just wants to find her brother and she'll do anything and go anywhere to do it. Even if it means risking her own life." I sighed. "Even if we told her what was out there, I'd bet she'd still go. Just like Dean would." Sam nodded, but still didn't face me.

"Are you really gonna take off?" I sighed again.

"I think so." I said, sadly. "I think it's for the best." Sam finally turned to face me. "I don't want to. But Dean is so over-protective. I couldn't even comfort that Ben kid without Dean saying I was trying to get in his pants." Sam shook his head, smiling. "What?"

"You wanna try again? With the truth this time." I shook my head, trying to hide my nervousness.

"Th-that is the truth."

"Ken, you're stuttering."

"N-no, I'm n-not." I was. I knew it. I bit my lip.

"You wanna know what I think?' I didn't answer, but he continued anyway. "I think that you're just as protective of him. Except in the case of you and Dean, it's not just protectiveness. It's jealousy." I shook my head.

"Jealous? I'm not jealous of Dean." I stated, defiantly.

"No, but you were jealous of Haley." I scoffed. "You said so yourself, McKenly. You want more with Dean than what you have."

"I never said that." I heard a bush rustle and jumped. I looked around but figured it was only a squirrel.

"Maybe not directly, but you implied it." I shook my head. "You're leaving because you're scared. You're running away."

"So what if I am?!" I shouted at him. "It's terrible! I didn't even realize it until you said something this morning. And then we met Haley and I saw how he was with her. How he was being flirty and especially nice to her. Then I thought back to every single time where I was in the next motel room while he was in another with some chick he'd picked up. I remembered how I felt and it made complete sense. I felt like shit. I was just tossed aside." I breathed. "And then, just because I'm a girl, he thinks that I'm completely incompetent. Like I need him to take care of me and fight my battles." Sam only stared at me, his face full of regret from ever starting this conversation. "So yeah. Forgive me if I have to get away from him. I don't wanna hurt anymore."

"Ken, I'm-"

"Don't apologize, Sam." I took a deep breath so that I would start crying. "I'm really okay. I think I just need a little time away from Dean so that I can woman up and focus on myself. Dean and I have just been too close lately and it's starting to get away from us. I never should have let myself think I had a chance." I admitted. Sam just looked at me and I knew he was sorry.

"Will you come back?"

"Honestly? I don't know." I said.

"I think you will." I looked at him and smiled. "There's a saying: Absence makes the heart grow fonder." I shook my head at him.

"Never believe that sorta thing. The people who came up with it, didn't know what we know." I turned my head to see Dean coming back. He stopped in front of us, looking as if he didn't know what to say.

"I – uh, I got us a room." He said, after a minute, holding up a key. I nodded. Sam looked at me and back to Dean. Sam laughed and picked a leaf out of Dean's hair.

"Did you get into a fight with a tree?" he asked his brother. Dean saw the leaf and took it from Sam quickly.

"Uh, no. a tree must have been hanging too low." He stumbled for an answer. His eyes darted to me. "Can we talk?" he said, putting his hands in his jacket pockets. I shook my head.

"I don't have anything else to say to you." I said. "And frankly, I don't want to hear any of your bullshit anymore." There was a thick silence until Sam asked Dean for the key. Sam took the key and I followed him to the room, Dean held back. "Sam?" I asked, in a hushed tone. "Can I share a bed with you? I promise I won't cuddle or anything." Sam put an arm around my shoulders.

"'Course, Ken."

"I'm sorry I was such a bitch about you coming along." He squeezed my shoulders.

"Don't worry about it." He used the hand that wasn't around my shoulders to unlock the door. We got in and I instantly went to the shower and change. Before I started the shower, I could hear Dean and Sam whispering. I decided not to listen and turned on the shower. I relaxed, thinking that pretty soon I wouldn't have to worry about anything the boys were talking about. I took a long hot shower and came out into the main room to see Sam sitting on our bed, tying his shoes. Dean was sitting at the table leafing through his father's journal. I went over to Sam and laid down on the side of the bed furthest from the other one, facing away from it. Sam stood up and stretched out. "I'm gonna hit the vending machine. You want anything?"

"I'm good." Dean said. I only shook my head.

"Alright, then. You try not to kill each other." He quickly left, leaving me alone with Dean, something I definitely did not want. I especially didn't want him to talk to me, but, of course, he did.

"I know you can hear me." I didn't answer. "I know you don't wanna talk to me so just listen." I closed my eyes and tried to ignore him, but part of me wanted to know what he was going to say. "I'm sorry for what I said. And you should take that seriously because I don't apologize for just anything. Because you are right. You can take care of yourself. best damn shot I've ever seen… Well, besides me." Of course you would ruin the apology. "but I want to protect you. just like I do with Sam. Because it's just like you said: we're a family." He cleared his throat. "If you leave, I'll go crazy. I won't know if you're safe or even alive. We've always been together. There really hasn't been a second of our lives since the fire that we've been separated. I don't think I'll know how to function without you." he laughed. My eyes were burning from the tears but I ignored them. I wanted more than anything to just act like I haven't heard him. Only I couldn't bring myself to. I turned over to face him. He was still sitting at the table, but the journal was closed. I looked at him for a moment, neither of us made a sound. Instead I moved the sheets out of the way for him. He smirked and came over to the bed. I felt my heart jump when he shed his pants leaving him in boxers. He laid next to me in the bed and I curled up to him. His arms went around me and he kissed the top of my head. "Don't leave, McKenly. You're my best friend." I sighed.

"And that's why I have to go." Dean's arm stiffened and tightened around me. I didn't fight him, instead I continued to talk. "I don't think that I wanna be just your best friend. I think I want more. But I don't need that kind of weakness. I don't need that sort of distraction and neither do you. You can't work to your full ability when you're worrying about me and I can't either. So I'll go away for a while." Dean didn't say anything, but I knew he agreed with me. Even if he didn't feel the same way, he needed my head to be on straight. Dean didn't need anyone to worry about him, well, because he's Dean. He's a superhero. He's the one that does all the saving.

I fell asleep quickly and didn't even hear when Sam came in from his snack run. I really did sleep best when I had Dean there to make sure that I was okay. It put my mind at ease from everything that was really out there. We awoke early the next morning and piled into the car with giant cups of coffee. We drove as far as we could into the woods before we hit the car that Haley and her search party had. I downed the rest of my coffee quickly and we got out of the car at the same time. I grabbed the duffel bag we had packed last night.

"You guys got room for three more?" Dean asked.

"What you want to come with us?" Haley asked.

"Who are these guys?" some guy I've never seen before asked.

"Apparently, this is all the park service could muster up for the search and rescue. Roy, this is Dean, Sam and McKenly." She turned to us. "Roy's the guy that I hired to help us find Tommy." I looked passed Roy and noticed Ben was throwing on a backpack. I knew that Haley would be going, but I kind of hoped that she wouldn't bring the kid along, too. Sam and I headed up to go talk to Ben.

"You're rangers?" Roy asked. Dean nodded.

"That's right."

"And you're hiking out in biker boots and jeans?" Haley asked.

"Well, sweetheart, I don't do shorts."

"He doesn't!" I called. "It's his knees. They're creepy lookin'." I smirked, back at Dean. He held a hand up to me as if to show Haley that it was truth. Dean walked past her to join me and Sam.

"What, you think this is funny?" Roy asked. "It's dangerous back country out here. Her brother might be hurt." Sam and I looked to Dean.

"Believe me, I know how dangerous this could get. We just wanna help her find Tommy and that's all." Dean said, calmly. We all took off towards Blackwater Ridge. I was hiking alongside Ben. Dean and Roy were talking and Sam and Haley followed close behind them.

"Roy, you said you did a little hunting."

"Yeah, more than a little."

"Really?" I questioned. "What'd you hunt?" He looked back to me.

"Mostly buck, sometimes bear." Dean passed Roy to get ahead.

"Tell me, uh, Bambi or Yogi ever hunt you back?" Roy grabs Dean's arm and I stop behind them almost running into Dean. My heart was pounding. I didn't know what was going on. "Whatcha doin', Roy?" Roy grabbed a nearby stick and slams it into the ground. A bear trap went off snapping the stick. That stick was almost Dean's foot. Haley looked annoyed. Oh, no. I thought.

"You should watch where you're stepping… Ranger." Roy stressed. Roy dropped what was left of the stick and took the lead again. We all continued on but Ben got ahead of me and I lagged back in front of Haley and Dean, trying to listen in on their conversation.

"You didn't pack any provisions. You guy are carrying a duffel bag. You're not rangers." She stated. She wasn't asking a question. She had figured us out. "So, who the hell are you?" Haley and Dean had stopped and I stopped with them only a few yards in front of them. Dean looked to me and urged me to follow Roy, but I didn't want to so I stood my ground.

"Sam and I are brothers. McKenly's our best friend. We're all looking for my father. He might be our here, but we don't really know. I just figured that you and me, we're in the same boat." I looked at the ground, trying not to stare or get upset about this conversation. Just a few short days until the case is closed and I can go off on my own.

"Why didn't you just tell me that from the start?"

"I'm telling you now." Dean smiled. "'Sides, that's probably one of the very few times I've ever been honest with a woman… Ever." I recalled last night and remembered that he was actually being honest to me then. Guess he really did like her. "So we okay?" She didn't answer right away. She seemed to be mulling it over in her head.

"Yeah, okay."

"And what do you mean I didn't pack provisions?" Dean took a bag of peanut M&Ms out of his jacket pocket and caught up to me, holding the bag out for me to take some. I smiled lightly, not really feeling all that happy. But I guess it was a good thing. Maybe that would help me to get over my feelings for him.

* * *

Chapter 7! Let me know what you guys think, because I'm not sure if I should keep this going.


	8. eight

We had been walking for a while. The sun was shining brighter now through the trees. I looked up, squinting, wondering where we were. Dean was walking with Haley again and I did everything that I could to block my jealousy. Sam was walking closely behind Roy and I was with Ben. He's a quiet kid, but when I got him to talk I saw what a cool guy he was. Then Roy addressed all of us.

"This is it." He said, boldly. "Blackwater Ridge." Sam and I walked past Roy to look around.

"What coordinates are we at?" Sam asked him. Roy pulled out his GPS and checked it.

"Thirty-five minus one-eleven."

Dean came over to us and spoke lowly. "Do you hear that?"

"It's so quiet." I told him.

"Not even crickets." Sam added. Roy ignored us gathering on our own. He started to wander off.

"You shouldn't go off there by yourself." I told him, warning.

"That's sweet." Roy cooed back. "Don't worry about me, sweetheart." I turned away from him, just in time for him to bring our attention to his gun. I rolled my eyes.

"I don't think that'll help him." I admitted to my friends." That might just make it angry." Dean nodded, agreeing with me. We all turned back to face Haley and Ben, seeing them catch up to us.

"Alright, everybody stays together." Dean took the lead of the five of us. Roy was still off on his own. I was scared for him. Especially since we hadn't figured out what this thing is yet. We walked for another half hour before I sat down on a large rock. The other four were looking closely, trying to find clues.

"Haley!" We heard Roy shout. "Over here!" I pushed myself off the rock and ran with Haley to find him. She and I came to a clearing and were quickly joined by the others.

"Oh, my God." Haley and I gasped at the same time at the sight before us. There were tents torn open. Blood splattered everywhere. Supplies scattered throughout the circular clearing.

"Looks like a grizzly." Roy pointed out, standing amongst the mess. All of us looked around analyzing the mess.

"Tommy?" Haley called quietly. She took off her backpack and joined Roy on the campsite and looked around. "Tommy?" She called louder. I followed her, trying to shush her. "Tommy!" She called, even louder.

"Haley." I said, getting her attention. "We have to keep very quiet." She turned to face me.

"What?" she asked, "Why?"

"There might still be something out there. We don't want to lead it here." I said, warning her. She nodded in response.

"McKenly. Sam." Dean called. I turned my head to look at him and he waved us over. Sam and I approached Dean and crouched next to him. "The bodies were dragged from their campsite."

"Their bodies, Dean." I argued. "We don't know they're dead yet."

Dean glared at me before speaking again. "Okay, their bodies." I smiled at his change. "Anyway. Here," He pointed to the ground, "the tracks just vanish."

"That's weird," I said, as we all stood up. Sam and Dean nodded, agreeing.

"I'll tell you what." Dean started. "That's no skinwalker or black dog." He walked passed me and Sam to join Haley who was holding a cell phone and looking worried.

Sam startled me when he spoke. "So what exactly happened last night?" I rolled my eyes, ignoring him and continued to watch Haley and Dean. "Oh, come on, Ken. I go away for twenty minutes with you ready to rip his throat out. I came back and it's like nothing ever happened with you two."

I shook my head and opened my mouth to respond, but we heard a scream.

"Help! Help me!" They screamed. Roy instantly ran to go to aid who screamed. We followed him, running. "Help! Somebody! Please!" it shouted again. We didn't find anyone. I stood in one place and turned slowly looking out of the forest in each direction. Haley joined me.

"It seemed like it was coming from around here, didn't it?" She asked me. I nodded and looked around again. I turned my head quickly, thinking I say moment.

"McKenly?" Dean questioned noticing my sudden alertness.

"We need to get out of here." I said, my voice shaking, slightly. Dean came over to me and grabbed my elbow, gently.

"Everybody back to camp," Sam ordered. Dean pulled me along when I didn't move. Eventually, I followed willingly. When we returned to Tommy's campsite, we noticed that all of or stuff was missing.

"Our packs!" Haley shouted, exasperated.

"So much for my GPS and satellite phone." Roy said.

"What the hell is going on?" Haley asked us. I couldn't answer. I was still trying to figure out what I saw, going through my list of the supernatural in my head.

"It's smart." Sam told her. "It wants to cut us off so we can't call for help."

"You mean someone." Roy pointed out. "Some nutjob out there just stole all our gear."

Sam came over to me and Dean. "I need to talk to you." He said to us. "In private." Dean started to pull me along with him to talk to Sam. We went to the edge of the clearing and sat down on a couple rocks.

"Let me see Dad's journal." Sam asked his brother. Dean reached inside his jacket to take it out of the pocket and hand it to Sam. Sam opened it and began to search for a particular page. "Alright. Check that out." Sam handed the book to Dean, pointing to a drawing.

"Oh come on, wendigos are in the Minnesota woods or – or northern Michigan. I've never heard of one of this far out west." Dean said, rolling his eyes, and pushing the idea away. He closed the journal and put it back in his jacket.

"No, it makes sense." I told him. "Think about it, Dean. The claws, the speed, the way it can mimic a human voice. And I saw it. It was fast but I caught just a glimpse of it and it looked kinda like that."

Dean thought for a moment and sighed when it clicked. "Great." He took out his gun. "Well, that means that this is useless." I nodded, looking back to the group.

"We gotta let them know." Sam said.

"No. We gotta get them safe." I corrected. We went back to join the others.

Sam spoke in front of all of them. "Alright, listen up. It's time to go. Things have gotten…more complicated."

"What?" Haley said, turning to look at me. I nodded.

"Kid, don't worry." Roy started. "Whatever's out there, I think I can handle it."

"It's not me that I'm worried about." Sam argued. "If you shoot this thing, you're just gonna make it mad. We have to leave. Now."

"One: you're talking nonsense." Roy showed up one finger and added another. "Two: you're in no position to give anybody orders."

"Relax." Dean added into the conversation. Things were getting heated.

"We never should have let you come out here with us in the first place, alright?" Sam shouted. "I'm trying to protect you."

Roy stepped forward into Sam's face. "You protect me? I was hunting these woods when your mommy was still kissing you good night."

"Yeah?" Sam questioned, sarcastically. "It's a damn near perfect hunter. It's smarter than you, and it's gonn hunt you down and eat you alive unless we get your stupid sorry ass out of here."

"Sam!" I said, not believing what he was saying.

Roy laughed. "You know you're crazy, right?"

"Yeah?" Sam yelled again, getting further into Roy's face. I could see that things were heading down a more dangerous path, so I signaled to Dean to intervene. "You ever hunt a wen–" Dean went up to push Sam away from Roy.

"Chill out!" yelled to the two of them.

"Stop!" Haley shouted. "Stop it. Everybody just stop. Look. Tommy might still be alive. And I'm not leaving here without him."

There was a pause until I stepped forward. "It's getting late." I said. "What is out there, it's a good hunter in the day. But it's an unbelievable hunter at night. We won't beat it, not in the dark. We need to settle in and protect ourselves."

"How?" Haley asked.

I smiled to her. "Now, that's the fun part." Dean handed me his father's journal and I opened up to the page with the wendigo on it. While the group built a fire while Dean, Haley and I walked around the campsite drawing different symbols in the dirt. I held the book up for Dean so he could copy the symbol exactly.

"One more time, that's…"

"An Anasazi symbol. It's for protection. The wendigo can't cross over them." I told her. Roy laughed, throwing his gun over his shoulder.

Dean stood up from the ground. "Nobody likes a skeptic, Roy." He said to Roy and then turned to me. "I'm gonna go talk to him." I nodded watching him go over to Sam.

***3rd Person POV***

Dean walked over to his brother. Sam was sitting at the edge of the campsite. "You wanna tell me what's going on in that freaky head of yours?" Dean asked.

"Dean–"

"No, you're not fine. You're like a powder keg, man. It's not like you. I'm supposed to be the belligerent one, remember?"

There was a pause before Sam spoke. "Dad's not here." He said. Dean nodded. "I mean, that much we know for sure, right? He would have left us a message or a sign, right?"

Dean agreed. "You're probably right. Tell you the truth. I don't think Dad's ever been to Lost Creek."

"Then we should get these people back to town and hit the road. We got to find Dad. I mean, why are we still even here?"

Dean pulled out his Dad's journal and held it up to his brother. "This is why. This book. This is Dad's single most valuable possession. Everything that he knows about every evil thing is in here. And he's passed it on to us. I think he wants us to pick up where he left off. You know, saving people. Hunting things. The family business."

Sam shook his head. "The family business? How do you expect to continue with the family business without Ken?"

Dean looked away. "Do you think I asked her to leave? I don't want her to."

"So tell her!" Sam told him.

"I did. But we talked about it." Dean sighed. "She thinks it's best if she goes. Just for a while."

"And what do you think?"

"I – I don't know. But the way I see it, Dad is giving us a job to do, and I intend to do it. With or without McKenly."

"Well I think that we should find Dad. With McKenly. I gotta find Jessica's killer. It's the only thing I can think about."

"Okay. We'll try to get her to stay." Dean bargained. Sam gave him a hard stare. "Alright, I'll try to get her to stay. And we'll find them. I promise. But you have to do something for me. You've got to prepare yourself. I mean, this search could take a while. All that anger…" Dean thought for a second. "You can't keep it burning over the long haul. It's gonna kill you. You gotta have patience, man."

Sam looked up and then back to Dean. "How do you do it? How do Dad and McKenly live this like this?"

"Well, for one, them." Dean looked over to see Haley, Ben and McKenly sitting around the fire. He looked over more specifically at McKenly.

"You mean for Ken?" Sam asked. Dean quickly turned back to glare at Sam. Dean shook his head.

"I mean, I figure that our family is so screwed to hell, maybe we can help some others. It makes things a little bit more bearable." He paused. "I'll tell you what else helps." Sam looked to Dean. "Killing as many evil sons of bitches as I possibly can."

***McKenly's POV***

"Do you really think that we should get out of here?" Ben asked me. I shrugged my shoulders.

"I think it's not safe for you guys. I think that you don't know enough about what is out there to protect yourselves." I told him. My head quickly turned when I heard a twig snap. I looked out to the woods but didn't see anything. "Sam. Dean." I whispered. The two of them came over to the fire. "I heard something." They looked around.

"Help me!" We heard. I assumed it was the Wendigo. "Please!" Dean readied his gun and stood, protectively in front of me, Haley, and Ben. "Help!" Sam moved his flashlight around as the Wendigo screamed.

"He's trying to draw us out." Dean said. "Just stay cool, stay put."

"Inside the magic circle?" Roy mocked.

"Help! Help me!" It growled.

Roy pointed his gun towards the sound. "Okay, that's no grizzly." He said.

I turned back to Haley and Ben. "You guys will be fine. We won't let anything happen to you." Just then, it felt like a gust of wind as we assumed it rushed passed us. Haley screamed.

"It's here." Sam said. Roy shot out into the woods.

"Roy!" I screamed. He was across the campsite "Don't do that!"

Of course, he ignored my advice and shot to the trees again. He let a shot off and then there was a whine. "I hit it!" He said, with a winning smile on his face.

"Oh, no." I turned to Dean. "That's not a good thing." We both turned quickly back to Roy. He was heading away from the campsite to see what he hit.

"Roy, no!" Dean shouted. "Roy! Get back here!" When he noticed that he wasn't coming back her cursed under his breath. "Damn it." He turned to me, Haley, and Ben and pointed to us. "Don't move."

I nodded to Dean before he ran off in search of Roy with Sam. I had my hand on my gun and Haley picked up a branch and held it in the fire, burning it on one end for a weapon. I looked at the fire, thinking that fire was probably a better idea. I looked back at Haley and Ben. "Don't worry. Remember we're safe." I reassured them. "They'll be back soon." I turned away from them. "I hope." I said to myself, feeling the worry in my own facial expression.

"It's over here!" We head the creature yell. "It's in the tree!"

My breathing was starting to get heavy and I was worrying. It had been almost ten minutes since Dean and Sam had run off. I still stood with my gun cocked and ready for it. Granted the gunshot would only make it angry, at least it would come after me first while Haley and Ben had time to get away. I started to hear some rustling in the bushes opposite of where Sam and Dean left. I turned to face them, lifting up my gun, aiming it towards the movement. I had my finger on the trigger and just as I was about to squeeze it, Dean popped out of the bushes. I sighed in relief. "Oh, thank God." I said, jogging over to him and jumping in his arms, throwing my arms around his neck and hugging him. He hesitated a moment before hugging me back, but when his arms wrapped around me I instantly felt safe and okay. I sighed again, pulling away, awkwardly. "I, uh…I'm glad you're okay." I told him. Dean nodded in response. Sam started to move passed us to talk to Haley and Ben.

"Awkward…" he whispered, slightly leaning towards us as he walked. I made sure to slap his arm as he walked by. I turned back to Dean and smiled awkwardly, rubbing at the back of my neck.

"Did you guys find Roy?"

Dean shook his head, "Honestly, I think the wendigo got to him."

I nodded, "Then we're good for the night. We should, uh, get some rest." I said, pointing back towards the group. When he didn't say anything I turned and started to walk towards them.

"Ken, wait." Dean said, grabbing the crook of my elbow. I turned back around to face him. He looked from my face down to his hand on my elbow and pulled away. "I – well I wanted to say something to you. But now that it's just me and you I don't know what to say."

I bit my lip. "This is what I don't want."

He looked at me confused. "What?"

"I'm trying to avoid this awkwardness. Now that you know exactly why I'm leaving, you'll probably make it all weird."

"Whoa, whoa. Zero weirdness here." He said pointing to himself. "You're the one who jumped on me when I came back."

"That's because I couldn't bear the thought of you dead, ya goof." I said, shaking my head at him. There was a minute of silence before Dean started to laugh. "What are you laughing at?" I asked him.

"Goof?" he laughed. "That's the best you can come up with?" That made me smile and laugh just a little bit. He held out his hand to pull me into a hug. His arms squeezed tight around my shoulders and I took in his smell. Sure, it was dangerous, and I shouldn't be letting myself do this for my sanity. But I wanted to. I was gonna miss him. "It's not gonna be the same without you around." I nodded into his chest.

"You've got Sam. Besides, I won't be gone long." I pulled away from him. His face was hard. I knew that he was going to have a hard time letting me go alone. "And I'll be safe. I promise, I can handle myself." I reassured him.

"I know you can." His said, with a monotone. I half-smiled at him.

"I'll be fine."

* * *

You guys are amazing. Thanks so much for all the reviews and shizzz. Enjoy this chapter :)


	9. nine

As it got later, we decided that at least one of the three of us would stay up just keeping watch. I took the first shift so the boys would get some sleep. Dean refused to sleep and insisted on staying up with me. Dean sat, leaning against a tree. We didn't talk so I ended up laying with my head in his lap. He put a hand on the back of my neck, softly massaging it until I fell asleep. When I woke up Dean was sleeping against the tree looking very uncomfortable. I smiled at his willingness to sleep like that for me. I moved slowly, being careful not to wake him up. As soon as he felt the movement, though, he shot awake and grabbed my arm defensively.

"Dean!" I whispered. "It's alright." He looked around on red alert. He let out a breath realizing everything was okay and let go of my hand. "How'd you sleep?"

"Like crap." He said, rubbing at his neck. I rolled my eyes. I moved to sit on a rock that was next to the tree and I grabbed his shoulders, pulling him in front of me. He questioned and stayed tense for a minute, before I started to massage his neck harder than he had done to me last night. Immediately, a soft groan omitted from his lips.

"Good?" I asked.

"Hell yeah." He said. I massaged his neck for about five minutes, watching the rest of our group. Sam was leaning against a stump with his dad's journal playing with the lanyard on it. Ben and Haley were around the dying fire. That is, until Haley got up and came over to me and Dean. I took my hands from his neck quickly. She looked confused.

"I don't… I mean, these types of things, they aren't supposed to be real." She said, stumbling over her words. I felt bad. I hate when we have to tell people what is really out there.

"I wish I could tell you different." Dean told her.

"How do we know it's not out there watching us?"

"We don't. But I'm pretty sure that we're safe for now." I answered this time.

"How do you know about this stuff?" Haley asked a second question. Dean looked to me and half smiled before turning back to Haley.

"Kinda runs in the family." He said. I turned my head when I saw Sam move towards us.

"So we've got half a chance in the daylight. And I for one want to kill this evil son of a bitch." Sam said.

"Well, hell, you know I'm in."

Dean looked to me and I looked to Sam who, with only a facial expression questioned whether I was with them or not. "Of course." I answered. "I'm in."

"Good." Sam said, holding out his dad's journal for us to look at. Haley waved Ben over so he could see, too. ""Wendigo" is a Cree Indian word. It means "evil that devours"."

"They are hundreds of years old." Dean added. "Each was once a man. Sometimes an Indian, or other times a frontiersman or a miner or hunter."

Haley looked to each of us. "How's a man turn into one of those things?" she asked.

I answered. "Well, it's really strange actually. During some insanely harsh winter, a guy finds himself starving, cut off from supplies or help. Eventually he becomes a cannibal to survive, eating other members of his tribe or camp."

"Like the Donner Party." Ben pointed out.

"Exactly." I congratulated, smiling at how he was catching on. I glanced over at Dean and he did not seem to like the gesture.

"Cultures all over the world believe that eating human flesh gives a person certain abilities. Speed, strength, immortality." Sam explained. I opened my mouth to continue explaining but Dean talked over me.

"If you eat enough of it, over years, you become this less than human thing. You're always hungry." He said, not looking over at me. I glared at him though since he decided just to talk over me.

"So if that's true, how can Tommy still be alive?" Haley asked.

"You're not gonna like it." Dean said, glancing at Sam then me. Now he didn't want to teach them about it. I rolled my eyes and looked to Haley.

"More than anything, a wendigo knows how to last long winters without food. It hibernates for years at a time, but when it's awake…" I tuned to Ben. "it keeps their victims alive. I guess, it's storing bodies, so it can feed whenever it gets hungry. If Tommy is alive, he's being kept somewhere dark, hidden and safe. Probably like a cave."

"And that's where we need to track it to." Dean finished. I shook my head. It was like this kid had mood swings for whenever he wanted to help out.

"So how do we stop it?" Ben asked.

"That's the tricky part." I started. "Guns and knives are useless. Weapons like that will only make it more angry and vengeful."

"So basically…" Dean held up a can of lighter fluid, a beer bottle and a scrap from a t-shirt. "we gotta torch the sucker." He smirked at me and I just turned away from him. I walked around the campground checking the perimeter, making sure that the symbols hadn't been messed up overnight. They were fine, and I knew it. I only needed an excuse to be away from Dean right now. I took a deep breath trying to collect myself. Dean was my family, but sometimes he's so stupid and protective. I hated it. "McKenly!" Dean shouted. I turned to see him wave me over. "We're moving out."

I nodded to him as I followed behind the group. Dean had his Molotov cocktail in his hand. He was leading the group first followed by Haley and Ben, with Sam and I bringing up the rear. I didn't talk. I just kept marching through the woods following the group, checking the ground for tracks. The trees and bushes were lined with claw marks and fresh blood. Later in the day, Dean got lazy and let Sam take over the lead. I still was the last in the line, but I didn't care. Dean was talking with Haley and Ben was just hiking along with everyone else. I wanted to talk to Ben just to get back at Dean for ignoring me this whole time, but I decided against it. Sam was looking carefully through the trees and I knew that he was brewing up something in his mind.

"Dean." He called. Dean caught up to him. Everyone stopped as they looked around.

"What is it?" Dean asked. Sam pointed out in the trees.

"You know, I was thinking… These claw prints, they're so clear and distinct."

I got where he was coming from and caught up to the two of them. "It's almost like they were too easy to follow. Like they were put here purposefully." Sam nodded, agreeing with me. A second later, we heard growling. The three of us whipped around in our spots as we heard the trees rustle. I looked to Haley and a drop of something dropped on her shirt. I followed it up from where it came from and she did, too. I nearly screamed when I saw it and my hand wrapped itself tightly around Dean's forearm. Haley jumped out of the way just in time for the body to fall to the ground. I looked down at my hand and Dean's arm. He pulled himself away from my grasp and went to check the body. It kind of hurt me that he just ripped himself away, but I tried not to let it affect me. I failed miserably. It did hurt me that he ripped away from me like that. I got lost in my own thoughts. The next thing I knew, Sam had wrapped his hand around my arm and was pulling me in another direction. I couldn't see though. There was water in my eyes. _Was I crying?_

"Come on, I gotcha." I heard Sam say. But I didn't know if it was to me or to someone else. A loud growl brought me back to the real world. I heard it and immediately started to run on my own even a little faster than the group. Once we heard the growling stop, I slowed until I stood on a slight hill. I looked behind me to see only Sam and Ben.

"Sam?" He looked up at me as I took in short breaths. "Sam, where's Dean?" He turned around in his spot and noticed that they weren't there.

"I – I don't know. He was behind us. With Haley." He said, stumbling for words. "He was behind us." I looked around, wide-eyed and in a panic. I started to run back towards the way we came but stopped when something shiny caught my eye. I bent down and picked it up. It was a piece of the glass Dean used for his fire bomb. I stood back up and showed Sam and Ben. I was shaking. Sam tried to take it from my hand so that I wouldn't cut myself on it, but that only made me create a more firm grasp on it. I had ended up cutting myself but I didn't seem to feel the pain. I tried to keep my cool for Ben but I couldn't.

I took in a deep breath and yelled, "Dean!" At this point I didn't care if the wendigo heard me. "Dean!" I screamed again, waiting for an answer this time. When there was no sound, Ben yelled for his sister and Sam yelled for Dean again. I turned in my spot hoping to see some kind of movement. I didn't. I dropped the glass and didn't bother tending to my hand. It would dry out in minutes.

"McKenly, we gotta fix your hand." Sam told me. I shook my head and started to move forward following the path.

"I'm fine, Sam. We have to find Haley and Dean."

"Mc –"

"I said I'm fine!" I screamed at him. I jogged a little bit more back towards the way we came, trying to get away from Sam. I heard he and Ben talking about Roy and I really didn't want to think of what this stupid creature could do to Dean. I looked down and noticed something that wasn't forest-colored. I knelt down again to pick it up. It was a peanut M&M. "Dean, you're a fucking genius." I said out loud. Sam and Ben heard me and came over to me to see me holding the candy. Sam and Ben smiled.

"It's better than breadcrumbs." He said. I nodded my head and rushed off to in that direction, in search of more chocolates. The M&M trail went on for twenty minutes before we saw the end of it. It lead us to a mine with a door. There were warning signs all around it, but I didn't care. I had to find Dean. I quickly opened it and snuck inside, turning on my flashlight so I could see where I was going. I was so focused on getting through the mine maze that I didn't hear growling. Sam pushed me and Ben against a wall, shutting off our flashlights and putting a hand over Ben's mouth so he wouldn't scream. I heard the wendigo shuffle by, stop, and almost turn down the tunnel connected to ours. However, he kept going. I peered around the corner and saw that the wendigo was no longer in sight. I walked with light feet, but with Sam and Ben close behind me they made the floor creek. I turned around to put a finger to my lips to tell them to shush their feet, but we feel through the floor. I groaned as I hit the floor below, and struggled to get myself up and out of the bones that were scattered all over it, wasting no time to continue on. Ben noticed what we were on and leaped back towards us. Sam told him to calm down and Ben slowly got his breathing back to normal. I looked up though and saw Dean and Haley just ahead of us, hanging from their arms from the ceiling.

I smiled. "Dean." I said with a sigh. I ran over to him and put his face in between my hands, lightly shaking his head. "Dean, come on, wake up." I begged. He slowly opened his eyes, blinking a few times. "Oh, thank God. Dean, are you alright?"

"Yeah." He answered, but still winced. Ben was over at Haley trying to get her to wake up. Sam came over next to me to cut Dean down. Dean's arms went around my neck and we ended up sinking into the floor.

"Whoa, easy there." I said, but I held him anyway, bringing him slowly to the ground. "So much for a damsel in distress." I told him, smirking.

"Shut up." he said, removing his arms from around my neck.

"Well, at least we know you're perfectly fine." I rolled my eyes. "What the hell happened?"

"Where is he?" Dean asked, ignoring my question. I hated when he ignored what I said, but I answered anyway.

"He's gone for now." I told him. Sam had gone to help get Haley down. Dean made noises indicating that he was in pain. "Hey, hey." I said, pulling him back down when he tried to get up. "Take is slow, cowboy. You've been hanging there for a while." I had to readjust him, making sure that he was a little bit comfortable as he leaned against me.

"Don't go." He said.

"I'm not going anywhere." I told him. "We can sit for a while." He shook his head.

"No, I mean don't leave us." I looked down at him, as he tried to sit himself up. I sighed when I saw it in his face that he was begging.

"Dean, I have t –"

"No, you don't have to." He said harshly. "You can stay, here, with me and Sam." He paused. "Well, not here here. But you know what I mean." I shook my head and looked over to Haley. They had found Tommy and were trying to cut him down. "C'mon, Ken. You really don't have to go. Just tell me you'll stay."

I shook my head again. "I can't. Dean, I wish I could, but I –" I looked away and saw different backpacks next to us. I turned over to one of them and searched through it. Inside, I saw flare guns. Three of them. I smiled, stood up and went over to Sam, leaving Dean to push himself off the ground. "Sam, check this out."

"Flare guns. Those'll work." He said grinning at me. I smiled big, glad that I could help out. I gave one to Sam and threw a gun to Dean behind me and he almost didn't catch it. I avoided his eyes though. I really didn't want to talk about me staying. I wasn't going to let him talk me into it. We headed down a tunnel with me and Dean in the lead with the guns. Haley and Ben had Tommy's arms around their shoulders. He was limping. A second later we heard growling. All of our heads snapped in the direction of the noise.

"Looks like someone's home for supper." Dean said, trying to be comedic. I shook my head.

"We'll never outrun it." Haley panicked. I looked back at the group and then back down the tunnel. I took a step forward but Dean's hand went around my arm. I stopped and looked back at him, confused.

"What are you doing?" Dean asked me.

"I'm gonna draw it away."

"Like hell you are." Dean argued.

"C'mon, Dean we don't have time for your protective, chauvinist crap." I said pulling my hand away from him like he had done to me. "We need to get these people outta here." I pointed back at Ben, Haley, and Tommy.

Dean groaned, looking at the three. "Alright. You three stay with Sam. He'll get you outta here."

"Are you guys crazy?" Haley questioned.

"Little bit." I admitted, turning with Dean to go towards the wendigo.

"Chow time, you freaky bastard!" Dean shouted.

"Bring it on!" I shouted, smirking back at him. The two of us continued down the dark tunnel, screaming at the top of our lungs trying to lead him to us. I tuned around watching Sam push Haley and her brothers towards the exit f the mine. We had been shouting and walking for a while now and it seemed like the Wendigos growls were getting softer.

"Dean, we should go back." I said, quietly. He shined his flashlight in my direction. "It's just a hunch, but we could be going the wrong way." He nodded, agreeing, and we turned back the way we came. There was a silence between us as we crept through the mine tunnels. I was half-surprised Dean didn't try to convince me to stay again. Then again, after being shut down twice already, I don't think he was willing to try a third time. The growling started to get louder. We came next to the same tunnel as the wendigo. Sam was on the other end trying to hide the others. Dean grabbed ahold of me, pushing me against a wall, holding me there.

"Okay." He whispered. "We need a plan."

I sighed, heavily, pushed his arm away from me and went down the tunnel. "Hey, asshole." I shouted at the wendigo. Sam stood on the other end, wide-eyed. I smirked as the wendigo turned to face me. I help up my flare gun and shot it in the stomach. The fire quickly started and the monster went up in flames. I could feel the heat radiating off the hand I'd burnt almost two weeks ago. I looked down at it and from the glow of the fire, I saw that it was red, as if I had only just singed it. For a moment I thought it was weird, but I decided to ignore it until we got outta this stupid mine.


	10. ten

We got out of the mine and the forest as quickly as we could. Dean didn't speak to me or even look at me. I was starting to feel really bad about leaving, but I knew it was best. We had called 911 once we were back in cell range. They were meeting us at the Ranger Station. When we got there, there were two ambulances as well as a few cop cars. Without saying a word, Dean grabbed my arm that wasn't hurt and led me to one of the ambulances.

"Dean, what gives?" I asked him, angrily.

He pointed a finger at me and ignored my question, addressing the EMT. "She cut her hand." The EMT nodded and began grabbing supplies. Dean turned and walked away, leaving me alone. I groaned when he went over to Haley. The EMT picked up my hand and I winced when he touched my burn. He turned my wrist to look at it.

"When did you get this burn?" he asked.

I shrugged. "Two weeks ago?"

The EMT shook his head. "It looks fresh. Are you sure you didn't burn it in the mine?"

"I'm sure," I grumbled. "It's been two weeks."

"Alright. Well, I'll patch it up. You should take it to have it looked at in a few days." H warned.

"Yeah, I'll do that." I said, dismissively, knowing I wouldn't. I was too busy focusing on Dean and how he left me here to talk to Haley.

* * *

***3rd Person POV***

Dean walked over to Haley after giving McKenly to the EMT. Part of him knew he should stay with McKenly at the ambulance. The other part didn't really care. He decided to go with that part. She was going leave him soon anyway.

Haley smiled when he came over. "So, I don't know how to thank you." Dean smirked, thinking of something. "Must you cheapen the moment."

Dean nodded. "Of course."

"Besides, it seems like you an McKenly are perfect together."

Dean's smirk quickly faded. "Oh we-we're not together." Dean struggled.

"Really?" Haley asked, looking towards the ambulance McKenly sat in. When they turned to look at her, she quickly turned away. "Well, then. She's really – "

"Jealous?" Dean interrupted. Haley turned back to him.

"Yes." She admitted. "But I was gonna say protective. I can tell that she cares a lot about you, not matter what your relationship."

Dean laughed, nervously. "Yeah, that's our Ken. Being all caring and whatever." Haley smiled and shook her head. A paramedic went up to the two of them and got Haley's attention.

"You riding with your brother?" he asked.

Haley nodded. "Yeah." She then turned to Ben, who had come up to the two of them moments earlier. "Let's go." Ben nodded to his sister, who turned back to Dean. She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. "I hope you find your father." She said to him, pulling away, only slightly. "And don't let her go."

Dean looked at Haley for a moment and then back to McKenly who was pushing herself out of the ambulance. McKenly headed over to the boys and Haley. As she did, Haley thanked Sam and smiled to her. McKenly tried to smile back but all she could manage was a half-smile and a soft glare. The three watched as EMTs loaded Tommy up into one of the ambulances, bandaged as much as they could out here. Dean and Sam hopped onto the hood of the Impala. Dean moved over a little bit for McKenly to fit, but she shook her head, preferring to lean against the car facing away from the two Winchester boys. Dean stared at her for a second as the others watched the ambulance drive away.

Dean decided that he didn't like the silence and spoke. "Man, I hate camping."

"Me, too." Sam agreed. McKenly remained quiet.

Dean sighed, "You know we're gonna find Dad, right, guys?"

"Yeah, I know." The boys waited for McKenly to answer. She didn't. She didn't even look or move towards them. "But, in the meantime?" Sam questioned. Dean looked to his brother. "I'm driving."

Dean smirked and handed his brother the keys. The two jumped off of the car and went to their respective sides. "C'mon, Ken." Dean urged. "Let's go get a good night's sleep." He smiled to her. She didn't say anything though. She only glared at him. He could barely see her eyes water in the darkness. "Ken?" McKenly shook her head, and pushed herself off the car and into the back seat so they could drive to a motel.

* * *

***McKenly's POV***

As soon as the three of us got a motel, I went straight for the bathroom with my duffel bag. I turned on the shower, and just sat in the bathroom without getting in. I needed time to myself. Being with the boys for so long had really driven me insane. Watching Haley kiss Dean didn't do much good for me either. Frankly, it had pissed me off. I knew the smirk that he had on his face when he walked up to her. I knew what that smirk meant. I didn't want to think about it, and sure as hell didn't want to believe that he would just go off and do something with her. Especially not after I told him the truth. Granted, I knew that he wouldn't come running and it'd be a fairy tale. That wasn't his way of doing things. But I was hoping that he would at least tell me if he felt differently or the same. I knew that wouldn't happen either. Dean didn't like to admit what he was feeling. He didn't want to tell me that he was upset about his Dad being gone, there was no way he would tell me about this.

After I had a good time to myself and just before the water ran cold, I hopped in for a quick shower. On my way out, I opened the door to find Dean just standing there, hand raised as if he were going to knock.

"Uh…" he mumbled. "Sorry. Just checkin' on ya. You've been in there for a while."

"Sorry, shoulda cleared it without first." I said, pushing past him.

"That's not what I'm sayin'." He followed me.

"Maybe not. But you really don't need to check up on me, Dean. I'm fine, remember?" I assured him, looking him straight in the eye. He nodded. "Can I see your dad's journal?"

He furrowed his brow. "What for?"

I shrugged. "I haven't had a chance to look through it yet. Maybe I could find something you can't."

Dean nodded, "Yeah, alright." He left my side to pick up the journal from the table and bring it back to me. I sat in one of the beds with the journal, leaning against the headboard. I began to flip through it, knowing exactly what I was looking for. Sam and Dean traded out getting a shower, Dean going first. Sam sat on the other bed, flipping through the television channels. When I found what I was looking for, I smiled to myself and memorized it. I shut the journal and crossed the room to put it back on the table. Dean came out of the shower as I crossed the room, back to the bed. I ignored him and went to lay back down in bed. "Did you find anything?" he asked.

I shook my head, not making a sound. Sam gave Dean a wary look. Dean gestured towards the bathroom, telling him to get out of the room. Sam raised his eyebrows, looked away from Dean and went into the bathroom. I rolled my eyes not wanting to be in the same from alone with him, but when exactly do I get what I want.

Dean walked towards the bed, clapping his hands together awkwardly. "So…" Dean started. "The case is over." I nodded, not responding verbally. "Are you gonna take off?" Dean asked, carefully. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"You say that like you want me to leave."

"I don't." He said quickly. "But that was your plan, right?" he questioned. "To leave when the case was solved. And we've killed the thing. So you're gonna go."

"You haven't given me a reason to stay." I said, coldly. "You don't feel the same, and with our job, my head can't be clouded. If I leave, I can focus on me, not you. and I'll forget these feelings that I've obviously made up in my head." I said, throwing things into my duffel, not checking to see his expression. I felt the ground move as Dean crossed the room to me with heavy feet. He grabbed my arm that wasn't bandaged before I grabbed another piece of clothing and turned me around quickly. I gasped and began to question him, but he crashed his lips to mine. It took me only a moment to realize what was going on before I relaxed in his arms. Everything I felt was exactly what I thought it would be. I melted into his arms. My arms went up around his neck and my fingers twisted in his hair. His hands greedily tightened on my waist. I heard the shower stop and pulled away, out of breath.

Dean had a slight smile on his face. I didn't know how to feel so my face remained blank. My heart wanted more than ever to jump back into his arms. My brain said that was stupid. I didn't know which to listen to. I wanted to choose both, but that was impossible. I didn't smile at him. My face remained blank. I knew he was trying to read me.

"I hope that's a good reason." He told me, backing away, just before Sam exited the bathroom.

"What'd I miss?" Sam asked. Dean didn't respond. I shook my head.

"Nothing." I said, quietly. Sam came up to me, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"You okay? You look like you've seen a ghost." I looked up at him. "You haven't right?" I shook my head.

"No, Sam. Everything's alright." I faked a smile, glancing at Dean. He wasn't looking at me, but his expression was hard. Sam followed my eyes to his brother and looked between us.

He stopped at me and whispered, low so that Dean wouldn't hear. "Did you guys have a fight?" I nodded. "Are you gonna leave?"

I shrugged. "If I do, don't stop me. Please." I begged. "And don't help him find me." He nodded.

"I wouldn't." he said, reaching to pull me into a hug. "I love you, Ken."

I smiled and leaned up to kiss his cheek. "Love you, too, Sammy."

That night, I didn't curl myself up to Dean. I didn't want to listen to my heart. I figured it would be easier to follow my head's advice and not get emotionally attached to Dean. It would only be harder on us to worry about each other on that whole new level. I kept to my side, watching Dean once he fell asleep. I couldn't help but look at him, thinking about that kiss. I loved it and wished more than anything that it would happen again. I waited up for almost half an hour unil I knew he was asleep. Even still, I slowly got out of bed, careful not to jostle him awake. I grabbed the notepad and pen by the phone to leave a note.

_"Don't look for me. I'll be safe. I'll come back. I promise. I just need time. Call me if anything pops up. Love, Ken."_

I leaned over Dean to put the note where I was laying. I kissed his temple before I grabbed my bag and snuck out of the room.

I walked for a while around the town before I found a car that wouldn't be missed. I broke the lock open and got in to hotwire the car. I sat in the hunk of rusted metal and took a deep breath. I didn't really want to leave. I've been with these boys my whole life. It scared me to think of being away from them. I knew, though, it was the best thing for me at this point.

I pulled my blond hair into a side ponytail and grabbed a map from my bag. I marked the address I remembered from the journal and drove in that direction.

* * *

I got five hours before the car ran out of gas. It was getting brighter now. I knew Dean and Sam had probably woken up by now. I'd probably gotten voicemails from Deana. Sam wouldn't call me since I asked him not to stop me. My phone was on silent in my bag. I stared at the bag for a moment, trying to decide if I would listen to those voicemails. I took it out, not lighting it up. I sighed and decided not to listen to them. I stuffed it back in my bag and through the bag's strap over my shoulder, figuring, I'd walked to find whatever transportation was next. I walked for twenty minutes before coming across the Fort Collins Bus Station.

I sighed. "I guess the bus is next." I walked in and up to the ticket counter. The lady asked where I was headed and I told her. She handed me a ticket after I paid her. She said the bus would be leaving in thirty minutes. I thanked her and sat in the waiting area. I took my phone out and stared at it again. The phone lit up, surprising me. It was Sam. I hesitated. It could be Sam, but it could also be Dean with Sam's phone. I sighed and answered it, not saying anything.

"McKenly?" It was Sam.

"Hey, Sam." I sighed. "Sorry. I had to be sure that it wasn't Dean."

"No, no. I got it." He paused. "How are you? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." The overhead speaker went off telling me my bus was boarding.

"A bus? Is that where you're going?"

I sighed. I really didn't want him to know. That way, Dean couldn't beat it out of him. "Yeah, I'm hopin' he'll take me in for a bit."

"Good luck. We haven't heard from him in years."

"Yeah, but he loved me." I joked. Sam paused. "How is he?"

"Pissed." He said. Well, at least he was being honest. "'Course, he's hittin' on anything with boobs and two legs."

"Two? Really? I'd feel as if the legs would be an option by now." I pondered, trying to remember how long it has been for him.

"Don't joke, Ken. He's not happy. I'm not sure if it's because he's upset or angry that you left. I'm sure he's left you a bunch of voicemails."

"I don't know. I'm scared to check." He sighed. "You won't tell him? Where I'm going, right?"

"Of course, not." He sympathized. "I get why you're doing it. Even though I wish you hadn't left me here with him. He's takin' this out on me." There was a pause. "Alright. I gotta go. He's coming."

"Okay, Sam. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Just stay safe."

"I will." I told him, hanging up the phone. I stood up and found my bus to board. I took a seat to myself in the back of the bus, away from everyone. My phone as burning in my bandaged hand, begging me to listen to its voicemails. I sighed, giving in, and put the password in my phone. I had two voicemails from Dean. The first started.

"Dammit, Ken!" Dean's voice boomed through the output speaker. I had to pull the phone away from my head. I brought it back a second later. "…can't believe you would leave without even a word! I thought that was what you wanted! That was for you! Because I didn't want you to leave! I don't know where you are! I – I'm freaking out here!" he half-laughed. "I don't know why you're not answering, but I hope to God it's not 'cause you're dead." He hung up the phone. I didn't bother to listen to the next one. Water burned my eyes. I wiped them away. I missed him. I knew I did. But I can't be like this on the job. I leaned my head against the window. As the tiredness came over me, I remembered how much sleep I haven't gotten and quickly dozed off.

* * *

***3rd Person POV***

Dean came back out of the gas station with snacks. He saw Sam hand up his phone and quickly stash it away. Dean quickened his pace back to the Impala.

"Who was that?" Dean asked, lowering himself into the car. Sam hesitated.

"Uh, it was the Sheriff." He stumbled. "From the town where the next case is at." Dean narrowed his eyes at him. He sighed.

"Just tell me she's okay." Dean ordered, softly, obviously very worried.

"What?" Sam faked. "Who?"

"McKenly. I know you, Sammy. You can't lie to me. That was her. Tell me she's okay."

Sam sighed in defeat. "She's fine. Safe." Dean nodded at Sam's response.

"Do you know where she is?"

"I know where she's going. But I'm not telling you."

"Sam…" Dean warned.

"You can threaten me all you want. She needs time, Dean. And if you go barreling in there, she'll never come back."

"She belongs here."

"Why? Because Dad said so?" Sam questioned. Dean was fuming. "Dean, she needs a break. From you. And from hunting." Those words made Dean's ears perk.

"She's not hunting."

"No. She's always told me she'd never hunt alone. Not because she's not capable. But she's not as tough as she seems." Sam admitted. Dean nodded. Dean knew exactly how tough she was. If she loved him as much as he loved her, it would take a lot of guts to just take off.

* * *

***McKenly's POV***

The taxi pulled up to the address I told the man seventeen hours later. I would have gotten here faster driving all the way, myself, but I needed the rest. I still hadn't listened to the second message from Dean. He was so angry in the first one, I couldn't bring myself to listen to another one. Nervousness also shown through as the taxi drove through all the broken down cars. Sam was right we haven't talked in years and he and John didn't exactly leave each other on good terms.

"This guy must be a mechanic with all these cars." The cabbie commented.

I smiled. "Yeah, something like that." Finally we arrived at the house. I paid the man and he drove away. The dog was laying on the porch. He lifted his head when I stepped up. "He, Rumsfeld." I said to him. He laid his head back down. I took a deep breath and knocked on the door. I began to hear footsteps.

"I don't want…" the door swung open. "…any." He finished.

"Hey, Bobby."


	11. eleven

Bobby and I stood on the porch, not saying anything. I didn't know what to say. I probably should have come up with some sort of plan other than just showing up on his door step. "So, Bobby…" I started. "It's been a while." Bobby nodded.

"What are you doin' here, McKenly?" he asked.

I sighed. "I needed to get away. I couldn't deal with…the hunting anymore. I'm tired." I lied. He didn't need to know what was really going on. I knew that he couldn't play the role of the awkward-fill-in-dad.

"Well, last time I saw you four wasn't exactly a happy occasion." Bobby admitted. I knew it. I knew he wouldn't let me stay. Of course, something in me, told me to be more optimistic about it.

I nodded at him. "I know, but it's only me. I thought that you and I had gotten along. We sorta understood each other. And it probably won't even be that long. A couple weeks at the most." He stared with an eyebrow raised. "If you take me in." I added. He sighed. I figured he didn't know what to do. "I can cook." I added with a smile. Bobby shook his head with a one-sided smile on his own face.

"Where are the boys? Do they know where you are?"

I groaned. It seemed that everyone was trying to look out for me. I didn't need it. Granted, running away to someone who would take me in probably wouldn't show anyone my own strength. I would never want to be alone, knowing what I know. I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know where they are. Sam knows where I am. Dean freaked out when he realized I was gone. I begged Sam not to tell him, even if things got violent."

"And John?"

He didn't know. I hated breaking the news. I knew what everyone thought when a hunter goes missing. "We don't know where he is. He left us on a lead about three to four weeks ago. We haven't heard from him since."

"He alright?"

I shrugged. "I'm sure, though. John can take care of himself. He needs a break from us. Deserves it. He's been raising us for far too long." I looked down, shrugging my backpack over my shoulder, preventing it from sliding off. I heard the door squeak as it moved.

Bobby sighed. "Alright, you can stay. But you, Blondie, you're grillin' tonight." I looked up and smiled big, moving to put an arm around him.

"Bobby, you're the best. Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I said really fast, pulling away and kissing his cheek. "Okay, so I'm going upstairs! I'll change, and go out to the store right now." I went passed him through the door he had opened. I hurried up the stairs taking two at a time.

"Take the room on the left!" Bobby shouted up to me. I went into the room and set my bag down on the bed. I rifled through it, searching for clothes that I quickly changed into. When I moved my bag to the floor, my phone fell out of the front pocket. Staring at it for a second, I reminded myself that I hadn't listened to Dean's second message yet. I didn't want to, though. I knew I should, just to get it over with. But instead I decided to call Sam. I was sure that he'd want to know I was okay. The phone rang.

_"Hello?"_ the other line answered.

"Hey, Sam." There was a pause. He hesitated. "Sam?"

_"Yeah, sorry."_ He said, slowly. _"We're just a little busy here."_

_"Who's that?"_ I heard Dean next to Sam. He had food in his mouth which was definitely not out of the ordinary.

"He's there, huh?" I asked.

_"Yeah."_ Sam said, defeated.

_"Is that her?"_ There was no response to Dean's question._ "Sam, is that McKenly?"_

"I should have rethought this." I shook my head. I can't believe I was that stupid. I remember to not talk on the phone when I answer it, in case it's Dean, but I can't wait until a time where I thought he might not be around to call myself. I groaned.

_"Give me the phone, Sam."_ Dean was angry. My heart started to pound itself in my chest. I couldn't bear to talk to him.

_"No!"_ Sam fought.

_"Sam, give me the damn phone!"_

I couldn't breathe, listening to the phone rustle around on the other end. They were probably fighting over the phone and it was too much for me, but I couldn't hang up without telling why I called. "Sam, listen!" I started, making sure I was a little loud, just in case he hadn't had the phone to his ear. "I'm here and safe. I'm stayin' here for a while." The next thing I said came out of my mouth before I could stop it. "Tell Dean that I'll call him later."

_"McKenly?"_ I lost my breath. It wasn't Sam with the phone anymore. It was Dean. _"Ken, c'mon."_ he begged. _"What are you doing?"_ I didn't answer. _"Where are you?"_ Silence._ "Ken, please, just come back."_ As soon as I heard it, I took the phone away from my ear and pressed end. I didn't want to listen to him pleading. I made a big mistake by calling.

I took a deep breath and made my way down stairs. Bobby was on one of his fake department phones. He held up a finger. Instead of just standing there, waiting, I decided to look around the kitchen to see what I'd need. I made a mental list as I laughed quietly as I heard Bobby yell at the person on the other end of the line for being so stupid.

"Idjit." Bobby said, slamming the phone back on the hook. He slammed it too hard, though, and it bounced up and landed on the floor. "Balls." He reached down for it. He stood back up and handed me a key chain. "Take the truck. Just don't crash it."

"Yes, sir." I said, as I had been taught to be polite. "Steaks or burgers." I asked him. He thought.

"Get a couple steaks. We'll celebrate." He smiled at me. "Believe it or not, kid, I missed ya." He admitted holding his beer bottle up towards me. I shook my head.

"Me, too." I smiled. "Alright, I'll be back." I jogged outta the house. Rumsfeld lifted his head like had had to me earlier. I crouched down in front of him and scratched one of his ears. He panted happily.

Just in that moment, I wished I could stay with Bobby forever. If only to have a pet like the dog. You never realize how much you want a pet until you can't have one. I smiled at the dog. "You wanna go for a ride?" I asked him. He barked a response and pushed himself off the ground. "I guess that's a yes." I pushed myself up and walked with him to the truck. When I opened the door, he jumped up and I followed after him to roll down the passenger side window half way. Turning on the old truck, I left the music off, rolling my window down to enjoy the ride. I looked to Rumsfeld and saw how happy he looked. Then I looked at myself. Granted my head wasn't out the window, but I saw myself almost as happy as him. I've never really had this sort of freedom to go to the store to prepare a real dinner. I felt safe somehow. It felt good to partially ignore what I knew was out there even though I still had my gun in one boot and a silver knife in the other. I couldn't help but feel like there was one thing missing.

*3rd Person POV*

Dean had thrown the phone back at his brother when McKenly hung up. Why wouldn't she just listen to him? He had practically begged her to come back. Of course, she just hung up and didn't bother explaining herself. He was mad. He was upset.

Sam left Dean alone at the counter to use the restroom after they'd finished eating. He circled an obituary in the newspaper he had been reading.

"Can I get you anything else?" Dean looked up to see that a waitress had just asked him a question. Instantly, he forgot all his worried about McKenly. He smiled with the pen in his mouth, that he'd been chewing. Sam came over just in time.

"Just the check please." Sam said.

"Okay." the waitress said, still looking at Dean. She walked away, flirtatiously. Dean dropped his head, defeated. He turned to his brother.

"You know, Sam, we are allowed to have fun once in a while." Dean pointed to the waitress. "That's fun."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Yeah, just after you had yelled at me for not telling you where McKenly is? You care about her so much to have her here, but you're willing to get laid by someone else." Dean turned away grumbling.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Bull, Dean. There is no way you and McKenly are just best friends the way you two act around each other."

"We don't 'act' like anything."

"You do. And you hurt her when you push her away. That's one reason why she left."

"You'd rather I had sex with her and then act like it never happened?" Dean interrogated, getting really angry at this point.

"No, that's not what I said."

"Whatever." Dean said, dismissively. He showed Sam the newspaper obituary he had just circled.

"Here, take a look at this, I think I got one. It's in Lake Manitoc, Wisconsin. Last week eighteen year old Sophie Carlton walks into the lake and doesn't walk out. Water's dragged, nothing found. Third drowning there this year. No bodies have been found. Sophie's funeral was two days ago."

"A funeral?"

"Yeah, it's weird. They buried an empty coffin. For, uh, closure or something."

"Closure? What closure? People don't just disappear, Dean. Other people just stop looking for them." Sam said, condescendingly.

"Something you wanna say to me?"

"The trail for Dad is getting colder and colder every day."

"I know that. So what are we supposed to do?"

"I don't know. Something. Anything."

"You know what? I'm sick of this attitude. You won't tell me where McKenly is. It's like your hiding something from me. And now you don't think I wanna find Dad as much as you do?" Dean questioned.

"Yeah, I know you do. It's just –"

"Ken and I have been with him every single day for the past two years, while you've been off to college going to pep rallies. I'm sure Ken would have loved to go to college. We will find Dad. We'll get Ken back, and we'll look for him. Until then, we're gonna kill everything bad between here and there. Okay?" Dean ordered.

Sam rolled his eyes at his brother. The waitress walked by again, grabbing Dean's attention. Sam hit his brother on the arm. "Lake Manitoc." He said. Dean scrambled his brain back to his brother.

"Huh?"

"How far?"

*McKenly's POV*

When I got to the store I had ordered Rumsfeld to stay in the truck. He simply laid himself down on the seat like he was lying back at the house. I shook my head at the lazy dog. I walked into the store, not really recognizing anyone. Not that I was surprised or thought that I would. We didn't stay here long enough for me to make friends. Quickly, I scanned through the meat department and picked out a few steaks. I also got a few other things that I thought would be necessary for my stay. His kitchen was pretty empty of any foods that didn't involve grease. Weird, I know, but sometimes I preferred an apple over bacon. As I was nearing fruits and vegetables, I decided I would also make some mashed potatoes for tonight. As I grabbed a small bag for my cart, I felt a small tug on my leg, which frightened me. I looked down, thinking that my gun was beginning to fall out. Instead I found a little boy. He couldn't have been much older than five with white blonde hair and the cutest blue eyes for a little boy. He had one of his thumbs in his mouth and his face was blotchy with tears.

"Hi, there." I said, sweetly. He let go of my pant leg, and I crouched down to his level. "Are you okay, sweetie?" he sniffled hard and shook his head, his thumb never leaving his mouth. "Where's your mommy or daddy?" he shrugged his shoulders. I smiled at him, a little heart-broken. I always hated it when I got lost in the grocery store. It was a big place, with too many tall aisles that would scare a little kid. Especially one that couldn't find his parents. "I'll tell you what. If you take my hand, maybe stop those cute tears," I said, wiping at one of the water droplets that were falling from his eye, "I'll help you find them." the little boy nodded his head. I stood up and grabbed his hand, leaving my cart in the fruits and veggies section.

We walked passed a few aisles before I heard a man yelling. "Jacob!" I stopped when the boy turned his head down the aisle. A man came jogging down the aisle with a box of cereal in his arm. The boy's hand fell from my grasp and he ran into this man's arms. "Oh, thank God!" the man said, "I'm so sorry, Jake." He kissed the side of the boy's head. I smiled at the two of them. The man looked to me. I couldn't help but notice how attractive he looked. I was never really attracted to guys with long hair, but I found that it worked for this man. It was blonde and almost long enough to be put into a ponytail. His jaw line was prominent, which I always found attractive. It was his piercing blue eyes that hit me the most. I knew where the boy had gotten those adorable blue eyes from. His eyes were a blue that was almost grey, they was so bright. He was very muscular and the boy in his arms looked so small compared to the man's wide shoulders.

He walked towards me with his kid in his arms. I couldn't help but notice that my heart was beating loudly in my chest. I mentally told my heart to calm down, but it wouldn't listen. "Thank you, so much." He said.

I didn't know what to say. I was entranced. After a moment, of incredible awkwardness thanks to my stupid self, I mumbled. "Oh, it's no problem. He's a sweetie."

"He just gets away from me. I turn my back and he's gone." He smiled.

I laughed. "Yeah, kids will do that."

"You have kids?" he questioned.

My eyes widened and I shook my head. "No, no, not me. I practically raised my little brother, Sam, though." I smiled to the little boy. He blushed, smiled and buried his face into his dad's chest. That made me smile more.

"He's a little flirt, this one. Gets it from his mother."

My heart dropped. I don't know why I would let my hopes get up in the first place. He has a kid. Of course, there's gonna be a woman in his life, too. "Ah, I see. Dad's doin' all the shoppin' while Mom does the real work, huh?"

The man smiled. "No, actually, we, uh, we lost my wife. About two years ago."

I cursed under my breath. "Damn," I said, quiet enough for the boy not to hear. "I am so sorry. I shouldn't have –"

The man shook his head. "It's alright. You couldn't have known. I haven't seen you around here."

"Yeah, I just got into town. I'm staying with my uncle for a while. Just to get away from the real world."

"Wouldn't I love that." he said. "I couldn't leave this one, though." I found that sweet. I almost remember a flash of my own father nurturing me like this one. "Your uncle is…?" he trailed off, leaving me to answer.

"Bobby. Bobby Singer. He's got the salvage yard on the outside of town."

The man shuffled warily. "Isn't he the town drunk?"

I laughed. "Maybe." I admitted. "To me, he's just Bobby though. He likes to keep to himself." I looked back at where I left my cart. "Oh, I just remembered, I've got a dog in the truck. I should probably get going. It was nice meeting you though." I turned back in the direction on my cart.

"Meeting?" the man stopped me with a hold on my arm. "How can we have met when I don't even know your name?"

I blushed, feeling the heat of his hand on my arm. "Right." I said, slowly, trying to calm my heart, still. He removed his hand when I held out my right hand for him to shake. "I'm McKenly Eden."

The man smiled and took my hand, shaking it. "You already met Jake. And I'm Jason Fisher."

We held our hands together for a little too long before I pulled away. "It was nice meeting you Jason Fisher." I said.

"You as well, Ms. Eden." He responded. I slowly turned back to my cart and hurried to finish my shopping. I kept glancing around my shoulder to see if I could catch another glimpse of him. I didn't. I checked out at the register, using a credit card under my own name. It was almost weird signing for a receipt for my real name. I got out to the truck and put the bags in the back of it. When I climbed in, I noticed a piece of paper stuck between the windshield wiper and the window itself. I climbed out of the truck and went around to get it. It was a receipt for a single box of cereal. Instantly, I knew who had put it there. There was a phone number on it, as well as a note.

_"Jacob would really like to see you again. I sure would, as well. Until then, Jason Fisher."_

I felt like I was in middle school with a note that was stuffed in my locker from a cute boy. I smiled and looked around the parking lot. It was nearly empty. As I climbed back in the truck, I just stared at the note. Rumsfeld whined and I looked to him. He had been staring at me.

"What?" I asked him. He turned his head to the side. "My mission here is to forget about my feelings for Dean. If that means going out with another guy, I might just do it." Rumsfeld whined again and laid back on the seat. "Besides, you didn't see how handsome he was."

* * *

Chapter 11! Thanks for all the comments I'm really loving them. And I'd love a lot more. They make me smile.

Enjoy! And thanks for reading!


	12. twelve

I laid awake late at night. It had been such a long day, but I couldn't sleep. I moved onto my side, staring at the two objects on it. My phone, with Dean's voicemail, was sitting right next to the phone number from Jason. I was so lost with both of the two men. It was like I had to choose right now, which path I should take. Dean was the best friend who I started to like as more than that. Then Jason, the hot single dad, didn't know about the supernatural. Not that it was a bad thing. But he liked me, or I assumed he did because he gave me his number. He went out of his way to give me his number. Dean did just about everything he could to push away his feelings.

Except that kiss. His kiss was unlike anything I have ever felt before. I haven't really kissed many guys. I'm not ashamed of it either. Actually, my list only consisted of two people: a guy I had dated six years ago, when we went to Truman High in Indiana for a month, and, now, Dean.

I sighed and rolled out of bed. There was no way that I was getting any sleep tonight. I grabbed both my phone and Jason's number and stuffed them in the pocket of my oversized hoodie. I snuck down the stairs, not stepping on the steps that I knew squeaked. Dean and I used to sneak out with Sam all the time when we stayed here. We used to go climb on the cars and lay down on them to look up at the sky, much like we do now on the Impala. Before I went out the front door, I stole a couple beers from the fridge. After grabbing the blanket from the back of a couch, I walked outside to sit on the bench swing hanging on the porch. My phone burned against my stomach. I felt as if I needed to call one of the men. Either way it was late. I would probably wake both of them up. I groaned to myself and opened a beer, taking a big swig.

The door squeaked open a minute later and Bobby, strolled out, moving to sit next to me and take my other beer. The squeak of the door was the only noise I made coming out here, but it made, by far, the loudest sound a door could make. I knew it would wake the old man. The two of us sat in silence, rocking the bench slowly. I was hoping he would just sit with me and not say anything. I didn't want to talk about my trouble. Most of all, I didn't want to burden Bobby with things that he couldn't handle. There had to be some sort of reason he never had any kids.

I could feel Bobby's eyes on me as he took a sip of his drink. I sighed, knowing I wouldn't be able to get away with not talking to him.

"So you wanna tell me why you're really here?" Bobby asked. I looked at him, pleadingly.

"Do I have to?" I questioned, wanting him to say no.

"No." I sighed in relief. "But…you should so ya ain't stuck out here all night. In my experience it's best to just get it out." He reasoned. I guess it made sense. I'm not sure he'd want to hear it once I said it, but I gave it a shot anyway.

"Dean and I were started to get a little too close." I admitted, picking at my fingernails.

"Well, you two have always been close." I raised an eyebrow at him, giving him a moment to think about what I'd said. His eyes grew wide and I knew that he caught on. "Oh!" he said. I nodded. "I get it. You can't have that sorta distraction on the job. Couldn't you have just kept yer distance?"

I shrugged. "I tried. He got mad at me for not talking to him. Then I was at a point where I was hurt that he never chose me over other girls." I trailed off. Bobby got it. He knew Dean was completely sex-driven. "Then before I left, he, uh, kissed me." I was thankful it was dark so he couldn't see me blush. "That night, when he was sleeping, I left a note, snuck out, and came here."

"So he doesn't know where you are?"

"I already told you he doesn't."

Bobby scoffed. "Ya Idjit. You call him up and tell him where you are. Guy's been your family for years. Probably going insane wonderin' where you are."

I shook my head. "Bobby, he's gonna tell me to come back. That or he's gonna come here and drag my ass out. I don't wanna go back. You shoulda heard his voicemail. He was angry. I don't wanna go back to that. I literally just got here, anyway. I woulda thought you'd want a few more home-cooked meals before you kicked me to the curb. I can't just go. I might have some sorta friend thing." I rambled, instantly regretting it. I wasn't planning on telling him about Jason yet.

"What friend thing?" Bobby asked.

"At the grocery store. Some guy named Jason Fisher. His…" I laughed. "His kid was lost and found me. I took him back to his dad. Jason gave me his number. Left it on his receipt in the windshield wipers of the truck." I smiled and took the receipt from my pocket to show him.

"I've heard of Jason. Good kid. Shame about his wife though. He loved her like nothing else." He said. My heart dropped.

I hadn't really thought about how he felt about her death. He looked fine, but it's been two years. Jason was probably a wreck a couple years ago, with a kid he didn't know what to do with. For a moment, I thought about John. He lost his wife and his best friends, my parents, leaving him with now three kids aged five, four, and six months.

I took my phone out next, staring between the two objects. The two of us sat, listening to the crickets chirp. Bobby finished his beer in that silence and then stood up.

"Do what you want, Blondie." Bobby said. He walked to the door and pushed it open. "I don't know what you should do about your problem, but you should call Dean anyway. Tell him where you are." I nodded, agreeing. "If you don't, I will."

I laughed. "I'll call him, Bobby. I promise." He left me alone, on the dark porch. I looked at my phone. I had already reached my decision on who I was going to call. I just had to get up the balls to do it. I sighed. I turned my phone on and dialed the number. It rang a few time before he answered.

"Hello?" he said. I took a deep breath. Maybe I should have thought about what to say. I was always bad about doing things before thinking about them. "Hello? Who's this?" he asked.

"Hey, it's me." I said, simply. He'd know who it was.

"McKenly? Where are you?"

"South Dakota." I waited. "I'm staying with Bobby Singer for a couple weeks. I'm tired. I need a break. I promised you that I'd come back."

"You need a break from hunting or a break from me?" He sounded angry and upset all in one sentence.

"Dean, it's more complicated than that."

"No, it's really not, Ken. I kissed you. I wanted you to stay. You left. Now, tell me why." he demanded.

"I don't really have a good 'why'."

"I'm going crazy with you gone. The case is so damn hard, and Sam's not that fun to talk to. I can't – "

"What's the case?" I asked, quickly, trying to change the subject.

He sighed. "Strange drownings. Top ranked swimmer drowns in a lake behind her house. A few months earlier another guy drowns in the same lake with his son. Kid's alive, but he's traumatized. He doesn't talk. To anyone. But I talked to him. He gave me this drawing." I could hear paper rustling around, as he probably pulled out the kid's drawing. "It's of a house." I could hear the smile in his voice. "It's pretty good. For a ten year old." He laughed. I smiled, listening to him talk about the kid.

"Maybe he's trying to talk to you."

"Ken, he doesn't talk to anyone."

"No, the picture. Maybe he's trying to talk to you through it. Show you something." There was a pause. "Have you seen the house? Does it look familiar?"

"Yeah, actually it does." He said, curiously. "We'll check it out tomorrow." I nodded, even though I knew he couldn't see. "Thanks, Ken. For the help. And for calling."

"Yeah." I told him. "Just promise me that you won't show up here tomorrow and drag me out by my hair."

He laughed, quietly. "I won't. Take your time."

I took a deep breath. Something in me told me that I had to tell him about Jason. The possibility of him and I dating, could potentially make Dean angry, if he found out on his own. I thought I would have decided against it, but my mouth turned on me again and moved faster than my brain. "I wanna try dating." I said, quickly.

"I thought you were gone to get over something happening between us." He said, confused.

"No. Not us. Just me and another person of the male gender. I met someone today – "

"Wait, hold on!" Dean boasted, angrily. "You've been gone one day and you're already whoring yourself out?"

At first I didn't know what to say. It hurt, what he said. It almost made me cry. I felt water sting my eyes, but I breathed and said quietly, "Whoa, Dean. That's totally uncalled for."

"Is that really why you called? To tell me that all of our fighting is done now because you met someone? All of a sudden everything that you said to me doesn't matter?"

"No! I'm trying to move passed this stupid crush! Dean, for our sanity it's much better if we don't have those sort of feelings for each other. I think that dating will help me with that. I also think that if you focus on the job, you could, too. You not being able to focus on a case 'cause you're worried about me, is not okay! You wouldn't have thought twice about that drawing if I hadn't suggested what I did!" I took a moment to breath. He didn't say anything. "You can't be unfocused. People needed you to be on you're a-game. You're needed, Dean. I was mostly the brains of the operation, but now that you've got Sam, people don't need me. I can slip out for a week or two. You save people's lives." There was another long pause where neither of us said anything. I had stopped rocking the bench by now. I could hear him breathing deeply on the other line. His breath made my heart beat fast. This was something I needed to get over. I guess I should start training that reflex.

"You're right." Dean said, finally. "Man, I bet you love hearing that." He laughed. I smiled, nodding to myself.

"You know that I do." I sighed. "All I want you to do is be yourself for a few weeks. Have fun with Sam. And go easy on him. I made him promise not to tell you where I was." There was a silence between us again. This one was more comfortable. I leaned back on the bench swing, rocking myself with my foot as I just listened to him breathe. I felt my eyes start to get heavy. I took a breath, reading to say goodbye, but he spoke first.

"So this guy…" he started. I waited. "You know if he hurts you, I'll kill him." I shook my head.

"Dean, we're not in high school anymore. You can't threaten every guy I'm interested in."

"I sure as hell can."

"Well, then, you can't threaten a man with a kid."

"He's got a kid?" Dean asked. I mumbled a yes. "Where's the mom?"

"She died, two years back. Kid was three. But, Dean, the boy is so adorable." I went on to tell him about Jacob and what happened at the grocery store. I couldn't believe how much I missed talking to him. It had only been a day and I missed my best friend. I began to think that these few weeks wouldn't be hard because I had feelings for him, but because I've never been away from him for very long.

***3rd Person POV***

The next day, Sam came back from his early morning snack and coffee run. He informed his brother of another death in the Carlton family. Bill's son, Will, had drowned…in their kitchen sink. Safe to say that was a little unusual. The brothers decided that it was not a creature. It was something that was in control of the water from the late. Dean had figured that out. He realized that McKenly was right after their talk.

Dean had been unfocused and worrying about her too much. She was fine. She could take care of herself. She really didn't need him. At least, that's what he told himself. Dean was hurt that she left. He would never admit it, but he might have started to feel something more for her. The past few weeks without his dad, they've been able to bond. Without the older man between them, the bounced ideas off each other, played pranks, and cried over their guilt pleasure, Dr. Sexy, M.D.

Their kiss, though, was great. He put so much more behind it then he normally would. He felt something. He saw it as more than with any of the girls he's hooked up with. And it was. Because it was his McKenly, his best friend. The only person he's known his whole life that he wasn't related to.

"Dean!" Sam said, taking his mind from his thoughts. He shook his head, refocusing on his brother. "We've got to move fast. The lake is draining. It'll be dry in a few months' time. We've got to get going if we're gonna solve this case before the body count skyrockets." Sam stood from the bed. Dean nodded and followed him to the Impala.

"Whatever it is, its running out of time. If it drowned the Carlton kid in a sink, it can get just about anywhere. It's gonna happen again soon." Dean said, starting his car. "And it took both Carlton's kids, so…"

"So, it has something to do with him." Sam finished. Dean recalled briefly when McKenly would do that. "I've been asking around." Sam took Dean from his thoughts. "Lucas's dad, Chris. He's Bill's godson." Dean pulled out of the parking spot, and sped out fast.

"Let's go pay Mr. Carlton a visit." The car stayed silent for a few minutes as they drove through the town. Sam kept looking over at his brother. He wanted to ask Dean about the phone call he got last night. Sam figured it was McKenly, but he wanted to know for sure. He also didn't want Dean to get angry or defensive about it. Dean noticed his glances and groaned. "What?"

Sam sighed. "You talked to McKenly last night?"

"Yeah. She called me." Dean admitted. Sam waited for him to continue. Dean didn't.

"And…?" Sam urged. If Dean didn't tell him, he knew McKenly would.

"And nothing." Dean said. Dean wasn't sure if he knew about his and McKenly's kiss, and it wasn't any of his business. McKenly might have told him, but he sure as hell won't be the one to share that news. Dean sighed though, knowing Sam would find out what happened during the call eventually. "She met a guy."

Sam choked. "What?"

Dean shrugged. "She's goin' out with some guy."

"And you're just gonna let her?"

"I don't have a say about what she does." Dean said. "McKenly's a big girl. She can take care of herself."

"Dean, you have all the say in the world when it comes to her. McKenly is crazy about you." Sam argued.

"Crazy about me?!" Dean questioned, angrily. "If she was so crazy about me, why would she call me in the middle of the night to tell me about some other guy?"

"You're her best friend."

"She said nothing will happen with us." He ignored his response. "She was gonna date Jason."

"Jason?"

"The guy." Dean said, shortly. Sam didn't know what to say. Dean never opened up to him like this. Just that shock, along with Dean subtly telling him that there was a 'them' (McKenly and Dean), made his mind go blank. "Her dating is a good thing." Dean said, suddenly. Sam looked at him questioningly. He was confused. Now Dean was happy about losing McKenly. "She doesn't deserve a hunter's life. McKenly is great. She can do a lot more." Sam wasn't sure who Dean was trying to convince. Sam knew Dean wanted his friend back. Maybe Dean telling himself that her dating was best would make his feelings go away.

The Impala pulled up to the run-down house on the lake. Dean's eyes bore into the house. He pulled out the picture Lucas gave him. It looked just like the house that was sitting right in front of him.

Dean sighed and looked to Sam. "We gotta get her back. Sans a new boyfriend.

***McKenly's POV***

I paced the floor, back and forth. I had probably run a dent into the ground. Tossing my phone between each of my hands told me that I was nervous. I didn't know how to do this. I have never done this. Last guy I dated was six years ago in high school. In high school things aren't real.

"Stop thinking about high school." I told myself. "This is now." I had taken the initiative the program the number Jason gave me in my phone. I kept the receipt though. It was sweet. A lot more sweet than I would normally get. This special attention definitely made me giddy. There were butterflies in my stomach that I haven't gotten in a long time. Well, at least about a guy that actually liked me.

After taking a deep breath, I pushed the call button on my phone over Jason's number. It rang…and rang. It rang for what felt like hours when in reality it wasn't even close to being that long.

"Hello?" he answered and I instantly knew that he was smiling. Just the way his voice sounded made me smile, too.

"Hey, um, is Jason Fisher there?"

"This is Jason." There was a hint of laughter in his voice. It calmed me instantly.

"Hi, Jason. It's McKenly. From the grocery store."

"Yeah, I know who you are." He said. I smiled. I panicked. I couldn't find out what words to use next. "I see you got our note."

"Yeah, yes, of course." I stumbled. "Are you enjoying your Lucky Charms?" I furrowed my brow, cursed myself, and slapped myself on the forehead. _What the hell was that? 'Are you enjoying your Lucky Charms?'_ I took something sweet and innocent and made it look like I was creepy.

He laughed though, which instantly but me at ease. "Yes, Jacob is enjoying them right now, actually."

"Good. That's good." I nodded. "So, um, I was wondering if you wanted to go out for coffee. Doesn't have to be coffee. It could be lunch or ice cream, maybe just to talk. If you can't because of Jacob, that's definitely fine. I would understand. He's your kid, you know. He's more your priority than going on some date."

"McKenly," he said, stopping me from my embarrassing rant.

"Yeah?"

"I would love to go out with you. I actually hired a sitter tonight. I had some work that I had to get done late, so I can ask her to stay for another hour. We can go out for dessert. I'll pick you up about 8?"

I smiled. I couldn't breathe. I had a date. Or at least I would, if I ever managed to say yes. "Yes!" I burst, sounding a little too excited. "I mean, uh, yeah that'd be really great. It's the old – "

"Salvage yard. Your Uncle Bobby's. I remember." I smiled. He remembered. Gosh, I was like a school girl. "I'll see you at eight."

"See ya." I took the phone away from my ear and ended the call. I threw myself back on the bed and sighed. Tonight was going to be great.

* * *

**Hey, guys! I'm soooo sorry for the delay. I've been trying really hard to work on my each of my stories at the same time. There are four of them so I write a chapter of each before I post it. Anyway, what do you think of this Jason guy? I kinda modeled him after Chris Hemsworth because that guy is amazeballs.**

**Thanks for reading and I'd really like some comments!**

**Thank you _JennyLynn2012_ and_Carver Edlund _for reviewing!**

**:)3**

**P.S. Check out my other stories, too!**

**Love's Spiral**  
**Teen Wolf: Stiles / OC / Derek (Not Sterek)**

**Fighter**  
**The Walking Dead: Daryl / OC**


	13. thirteen

As if I couldn't be any more nervous. I had absolutely nothing to wear other than jeans and a freaking flannel shirt. My lifestyle has forbidden me to have style. Ironic, huh? At times like these I really wished I could call up a best girlfriend or my mom for advice. I can't believe I even thought about dating. I haven't dated in years. I had no idea how to do this. What do I wear? What do I talk about? This was driving me insane to the point where I'd, for sure, pulled all my hair out. Though, if I did that I wouldn't know what to do with my hair.

To take my mind off of it for a while, I decided to make me and Bobby some sandwiches for dinner. I kept dropping the knife from my mayonnaise. Then I guess I wasn't paying attention and I put peanut butter on Bobby's BLT. I was so nervous, I couldn't think straight. I crashed all of the dishes into the sink, overly frustrated with such a simple task. Bobby ran in when he heard the crash. He looked around seeing everything was okay.

"What's goin' on, Blondie?" Bobby asked.

I shrugged. "I'm so nervous. I can't do this. I don't have any clothes. And I don't even know what I was thinkin'. He's got a kid! What am I gonna do with a kid?!" I threw my arms up to the side.

"It's not like he proposed to ya."

"I know, but when single parents date, they look for a potential parent. It's almost fact. I am far from ready to be a mom! I wouldn't even know how. I didn't have a mom growing up."

"Calm down. Alright." Bobby ordered. I nodded, taking deep breaths. "Is that really it? The kid?" he asked.

I shook my head. "No, I don't know. I mean, I don't date. I have had one real relationship. In high school. And Dean…" I swallowed. "I ran away from Dean. And by the time I left, he almost seemed willing. He's my best friend. And he's not okay with me dating. I don't know if it's because I'm dating someone else, or…" I trailed off. "He said he was okay with it, but I can tell when he's lying. He's a terrible liar. But I need to try with Jason. I know that." I grumbled and slammed a first on the counter. "I just wish it wasn't' so damn complicated."

Bobby sighed and rolled up his sleeves. "Let's try again on those sandwiches, huh?"

I looked at him. I was glad he decided to drop it. I needed to relax and not think about it. It was why I came down to the kitchen in the first place. I liked Bobby. Somehow he knew what to say or do in my situation. I didn't remember him being this awesome. He used to be just an old guy with a bunch of old cars. I will definitely miss him when I left. If I left.

***3rd Person POV***

Dean and Sam walked into the station following behind Sheriff Jake Devins. The two men had just witnessed Bill Carlton go out in a boat and not come back. There was definitely something wrong with that lake and it involved Bill Carlton. Only how that he was gone, he couldn't be questioned about it.

Andrea was in the station with her little boy, Lucas, who drew the pictures for Dean. She stands from her chair. "Sam, Dean." She said. "I didn't expect to see you here."

Her father, the Sheriff, looked at her confused. "Since when are you three on a first name basis? What are you doing here"

"I brought you dinner." She said, handing him a brown paper bag.

Jake hung his head. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I don't really have time. Something just happened and – "

"Is this about Bill Carlton?" Andrea interrupted. "I heard what happened. Is it true? Is something going on with the lake?"

The Sheriff sighed. "Right now we don't know what the truth is. But I think it might be best if the two of you went home." Lucas looks up from his lap and cries. He looked almost scared. He jumped from his chair and went over to Dean, grabbing and shaking his jacket clad arm. Dean looked down at Lucas.

"Lucas? Hey, what is it" The boy didn't respond, but kept grabbing at Dean's arm. "Lucas?" Andrea goes to her son's side, putting an arm around his shoulders. Dean gets on one knee to be at the kid's height. "Lucas, it's okay." Dean kept repeating it until Andrea led Lucas outside. Lucas and Dean hold eye contact until they can't see each other anymore. Jake puts his jacket down and retreats to his office, Sam and Dean following shortly after. The three sit down around Jake's desk.

"Jake put an elbow on his desk and points to the younger men in front of him. "Okay, just so I'm clear," Jake started, "You two see, uh…something attack Bill's boat, sending Bill – who is, by the way, a very good swimmer – into the drink, and you never see him again?" Dean noticed the Sheriff sounded a bit condescending.

Before responding, Dean looked to his brother, who shrugged. "Yeah, that about sums everything up."

"Okay… and I'm supposed to believe this, even though I've already sonar swept that entire lake? And what you're describing is impossible? And…" he stressed. "you're not really wildlife service?" Dean's eyes widened at Jake's rhetorical question. "That's right, I checked Department's never heard of you two."

Dean stumbled for words. He opened his mouth to respond, but his phone vibrated in his jacket pocket. He ignored it, though, and answered. "See, now, we can explain that."

"Jake held up a hand to Dean's excuses. "Enough. The only reason you two are still breathing free air is because of the one neighbor that saw Bill take his boat out just before you did. So, we have a couple of options here. I can arrest both of you for impersonating government officials and hold you as material witnesses to Bill Carlton's disappearance or, we can chalk this all up to a bad day, you get into your car, you put this town in your rearview mirror, and you don't ever darken my doorstep again."

Sam shook his head at his brother. "Door number two sounds good." The brothers stood up and turned to leave.

"That's the one I'd pick." Jake said, as they left. The boys went back to their motel to retrieve their things and leave town as soon as they could. It was dark by the time Sam and Dean made it to the intersection to turn to the interstate. Dean stopped at a red light. Dean couldn't stop thinking about the kid, Lucas. He seemed so scared. He was completely freaked out of his mind. Dean thought about McKenly. What would she do? She was always so much better with kids. McKenly would kill him if he left that kid to take care of this himself. This job wasn't over.

"Green." Sam said, startling Dean.

"What?"

"Light's green." Sam pointed. Dean remained at the light for a moment. He could either go off to the interstate or right back to town. He heard McKenly's voice in his head, telling him which way to go. He turned right. "Uh, the interstate's the other way." Dean nodded to Sam's comment.

"I know."

***McKenly's POV***

Here I was. Pacing. Again. It was 7:50, almost time for Jason to come get me. there was nothing but nerves in my stomach. I couldn't eat the sandwiches bobby and I remade. The nervousness was getting to me. Bobby was in the other room looking over one of his books. At least, he was pantomiming. There was no way he'd get anything done with me pacing along the creaky floorboards. I looked at the watch on my left wrist, hiding a tattoo of two birds perched on a branch. Only a couple more minutes have passed. I groaned.

"Blondie, if you don't stop walkin' around, I'm gon' come in there and beat yer ass." Bobby called. I sighed and sat on the couch. As soon as my butt hit the fabric, I heard gravel from outside. He was here. I breathed, slowing my heart. I heard the patter of footsteps on the front porch and refrained from jumping off the couch. I couldn't show him that I was eager to go on the date. Rumsfeld whined on the porch, before Jason knocked on the door. I waited a minute before answering the door.

I tried not to sound too excited. "Hey, Jason." I smiled through the screen door.

"Hi, McKenly." He said, with a toothy grin. "Are you ready to go?" I smiled. I'd be lying if I didn't take a minute to check him out. Jason was in work clothes, but he looked as casual as he did the other night in jeans. His black slacks paired with a light blue dress shirt made me feel underdressed in jeans, a tank top, and a black jacket similar to one Dean had. Not that I was thinking about Dean at all. He had crossed my mind for a second when I was freaking out. I thought calling him and hearing his voice would calm me down. Only he didn't answer and it went straight to voice mail. I took it as a sign not to try again.

I sighed, returning my attention to Jason. "Yeah, let's go." I turned to yell at Bobby. "See you later, Uncle Bobby." I wanted him to know that I told Jason he was my uncle.

"Later, Blondie!" he shouted back, not coming into view.

I shook my head and looked to Jason. "I think you're right. Maybe he is the town drunk." Jason laughed at my remark.

"I heard that." Bobby warned.

I giggled. "Later!" I shouted, pushing the screen door open.

"Don't bother coming back."

Jason pointed towards the voice, questioningly. I waved it off. "He doesn't mean it." I stepped into the coolish evening air. "He loves me. But I'm kind of a pain in the ass sometimes."

Jason laughed, leading me to his car. "So I was thinking ice cream." I thought for a second, hiding my excitement. Little did he know, I loved ice cream…a lot. I nodded as he opened the door for me. "Great." He said, softly closing my door after I thanked him, he ran around the car and as soon as he got in, the nerves disappeared. I was ready for this date.

***3rd Person POV***

Sam and Dean were both in the Impala, almost back to town. Sam couldn't get over why they were going back if the case was over. Dean wasn't so sure. Sam tried reasoning with him.

"If Bill murdered Peter Sweeney and Peter's spirit got its revenge, case closed. That little boy's spirit should be at rest."

"What if we leave and he's not at rest? I don't know, what if we've missed something? More people could get hurt," Dean argued with his brother. Sam shook his head.

"Why would you think that?" Sam asked.

"Because Lucas was really scared." Dean admitted.

"Is that what this about? Some chicks kid?"

Dean shook his head. "I don't want to leave this town until I know the kid's okay."

"Who are you?" Sam asked, condescendingly. "And what have you done with my brother?"

Dean glanced at Sam. "McKenly would hate me if something happened to that kid."

Sam nodded, finally everything clicked. "How is that?"

"Great." Dean said shortly.

"Have you talked to her since last night?"

"No." He responded, sighing. "She called while we were in with Jake. I couldn't answer. Haven't had a chance to call her back. She's probably on a date by now."

"She'll come back." Sam assured. "She promised."

"What if this guy convinces her not to? She could get attached to the kid."

"What kid?"

"The guy's kid. Sam, come on. Don't you know anything?"

Sam shrugged. "You didn't tell me about a kid." They finally arrived back at Lucas's house. "Dean? Were you gonna tell me about the kid?" Sam asked as the two climbed out of the car.

Dean shrugged. "I was hoping she would tell you."

Sam shook his head. "If anything it will bring her back quicker." Sam said, confused his brother. "There is no way that she is ready to settle down and be a parent to that kid." That made Dean feel a whole lot better about McKenly dating this guy. He didn't know why he didn't think of that before. Sam was right, she wasn't ready to be a mom.

The two boys walked up the sidewalk to the house.

"Are you sure about this? IT's really late. I wouldn't want to wake them." Sam asked. Dean answered by ringing the doorbell. As soon as the bell finished sounding, the door was swung open by Lucas, who was frantic.

"Lucas? What's wrong?" Dean asked the kid. Lucas sped off into the house, leading the Winchesters upstairs. Lucas stopped at a door and started pounding his fist against it. Dean pushed him to Sam and kicked the door down to find Andrea sloshing around in the bathtub as if something was attacking her, pulling her under the water. Dean held Lucas and Sam went in to dig Andrea out of the bath water. He struggled but ended up pulling her out and they both fell to the floor awkwardly since Andrea was naked. As Andrea caught her breath Dean continued to comfort Lucas in his arms.

***McKenly's POV***

"Alright, so I need to know more about you." Jason told me as we waited in line for our ice cream. "Important things first. What's your favorite flavor ice cream?"

I smiled. "Chocolate chip cookie dough." I said, confidently. I couldn't believe that I didn't feel nervous anymore. Jason made plenty of jokes and eased the first date tension. It's like I was talking to someone I've known for years. "I've been eating it ever since I was little."

Jason grinned a my response. "That's Jacob's favorite. His mom got him into it." I smiled, not knowing what to say. It was a little awkward for me when he brought up his late wife. I knew she was dead, but it felt like I was "the other woman." Jason went to order our ice cream, my favorite for me, chocolate for him. We sat in a couple of rocking chairs on the outside of the parlor. "He talks about 'the lady from the store' every now and then. Thinks you two are best friends."

"Really?" I questioned.

Jason nodded. "He's never remembered anyone like this. You must have made quite an impression on him."

I shrugged. I couldn't just leave him to wander the store. Your son is adorable."

Jason smiled. "So are you from here? Or is that just your uncle?"

"No. I'm from Kansas. Little town called Lawrence. I wasn't there for very long and I haven't been back, but it's where I call home."

"I bet your parents miss you, though. Why don't you go back?"

"I – " I paused, "There weren't very many happy memories. My, uh – my parents died in a fire when I was three."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I don't remember much about them. I vaguely remember that night." I lied. I remembered every bit. "I was staying at the neighbors with my best friend, Dean. His mom went to my house to talk to my mom about something and she never came back. Dean's dad raised me and we moved around a lot." I looked up to see him listening intently. I shook my head. "I'm sorry. I am talking way too much. Where are you from?"

"Here." He smiled. "And you should know that it's alright that you talk a lot. I wanna know about you. my life is nothing special. I thought you said you had a brother? Sam?"

"Well, Sam is actually Dean's little brother. He was a baby when everything happened. And I did help raise him. So I promise it wasn't a lie."

"What about this Dean guy?"

"Honestly, with him, it's complicated. I thought he was just my best friend. We've known each other our whole lives. We lived next door to each other before the fire. We work together. We travel together."

"He's the reason you left?" Jason asked. how had he known? Was it really that obvious, even with what little he know about the both of us. I nodded my head, pulling the hair out of my face.

"I started to have feelings for him that I didn't know were reciprocated. He's my best friend and having any sort of feelings for him could make things complicated and awkward. So I left. Took some time off and decided to focus on me.

Jason smiled. "I think that's very brave of you. Leaving your family takes a lot of guts and I'm so sorry for everything that's happened to you." I waved him off and shrugged.

"I just think the distance would do me some good."

"Haven't you ever heard of a little saying: 'Absence makes the heart grow fonder'?"

I nodded. "I thought about it. And then I ran into your little boy." I smiled.


	14. fourteen

It had been a week. A week since my first date with Jason. The second date we ended up staying at him house and playing with Jacob because the babysitter had to back out at the last minute. She was a seventeen year old applying to colleges and taking exams, it was understandable. The third was a movie. I enjoyed that one since I couldn't even remember the last time I had been to an actual theater. The fourth date was a dinner, that he made. I certainly missed home cooked meals that I didn't have to make myself. This man was perfect. I hadn't found anything wrong with him. He was nice to me, good with his kid, great at his job. I guess perfect is too much of a broad term, but that was the only way that I could think to describe him. So that means four dates in the eight days that I had known him. I enjoyed every single one of them. We hadn't done anything affectionate other than hug each other. Not that I minded. I was well-aware of the fact that we had to take things slow, since he had a kid. And I was in no rush, being that I was unaware of when I would be going back to hunting with Dean, I didn't want to get attached.

This also means it has been a week without Dean. I don't think about him much when I'm with Jason, unless he brings Dean up. When I'm not with Jason, it's like Dean is my entire life. I'm always worried about what he could be doing or what trouble he could be getting himself into. I know that he's reckless and without me reigning him in, it's probably ten times worse. I didn't want to call him since he's always the busy one. So after playing phone tag for a day, I decided to tell him to call me whenever he got the chance. After he started calling me every day, at the same time, I figured he was making time for me, which made me feel good. When we got on the phone, we asked each other politely how we were. We would talk about his case, whether it was stumping him or not. We would laugh at something stupid that Bobby or Sam did. Sometimes, when there was a lag in the conversation, he would hand the phone to Sam and he and I would talk. When we ended the call he would tell me that he missed me. I would tell him that I missed him. He wants me to come back, and I wanted to go back. There just wasn't anything there for me since Sam was taking care of all the research now. I would go back when they had a lead on John.

Currently, I was waiting around for Dean's call. I ended up sitting on my bed, with my cell phone in front of me. I checked my watch. 3:20. Twenty minutes after the time he usually called. I wasn't worried. Dean normally doesn't have this sort of knack for consistency. I was surprised he managed to keep it up as long as he had. It turned to four, then five, and still no call from Dean. I sighed, admitting it wouldn't come so I picked up my phone and called Jason, knowing that he would be getting out of work now. He answered after a few rings.

_"Hey, beautiful. I was just about to call you."_ He said, smoothly into the phone. I smiled at his calling me beautiful.

"After a week of that you think I would have managed to calm my blushing my now." I admitted. He laughed.

_"So what is the reason I get to hear your voice so early in the afternoon? I would have figured you would be talking to Dean now."_

"He didn't call. And I don't want to call him. He's probably busy with work, I don't want to interrupt anything." I shrugged. "But I was wondering if you and Jacob would like to hang out tonight. Rent a movie, get some pizza, cuddle on the couch after Jake falls asleep five minutes in?"

_"That sounds perfect. Why don't you go get the movie and come over. I'll call for pizza and pick it up on the way home. It'll be about an hour for me to get it and get back into town, so why don't you go over to the house, tell Chelsea she can go home."_

"Really? You'll let me watch Jacob on my own?" I questioned, confused.

_"I won't be long. I trust you. Just don't feed him any cookies. He'll be up all night and I won't ever get some alone time with you."_ Jason joked.

"Ha ha." I laughed sarcastically. "You know, just for that, I'll give him the jar. Let him just go at it."

_"Don't you dare."_ He warned. _"Alright, well, I'll see you when I get home."_

I nodded, rising from my bed to change. "Alright. See you." I hung up the phone and threw it out of my hand so that I could quickly change into something a little more comfortable. I chose a pair of sweatpants and a white t-shirt. We weren't going out tonight, so I didn't feel the need to do much with my appearance. I ran down the stairs into the library like room that Bobby had to see him sitting at his desk over a giant leather bound book.

"Hey, Bobby." I said, sweetly.

"No." he said, grumpily.

"I haven't even asked you anything."

"Yet."

I sighed. "…yet." I slouched. "How do you know absolutely everything?"

"I'm an old man, Blondie. I've been through a lot."

"So I can't borrow the truck?"

Bobby shook his head, standing from the desk. "No," He started. He walked towards the front room and opened the front door. "But you can take that." He said, gesturing outside. There was a blue truck parked right behind his own. My jaw dropped.

"Bobby? What is that?" I asked, already knowing what it was, but needing to hear it from him, just to be one hundred percent sure.

"It's a 1970 Chevy Longhorn."

"No, it's not."

"It is." Bobby argued. "And it's yours." He said, holding up a set of keys. I smiled, grabbing the keys from him and running out into the front drive.

"Where the hell did you get it?" I asked.

"Well, after you first came here when you were a kid, you told me what your favorite truck was. I'd already found it before the fight with John. It's a nice truck. I didn't want to get rid of it. Now you're back, so I fixed it up and it's yours."

"Thanks, Bobby!" I said, wrapping my arms around his neck and kissing his cheek once. "I'll probably be back late, but there is a leftover steak in the fridge from last night. Pop it in the nuker and you're good to go." He waved me off as I squealed with glee at the sound of the engine roaring to life. It was mine. I actually had my own car. I quickly drove away and to the Blockbuster to pick up a movie that would look interesting. I didn't know anything about which movies had recently come out so I pretty much just picked one at random. When I got to Jason's house, I knocked on the door quietly. Chelsea came to the door with Jacob on her hip.

"Kenly!" Jacob shouted, trying to wiggle out of Chelsea's grasp and slide to the floor. He hopped over to me and into my arms.

"Hey, squirt." I said, smiling at him.

"Hi, Miss Eden." Chelsea said, smiling.

"Chelsea, please. I'm twenty-five. I don't need that 'Miss' for another five years. It's McKenly."

She laughed. "Alright."

"Jason said that I could watch him for a little bit. He said to let you go home."

She nodded. "Yeah, he called. Said he would pay me tomorrow so you don't have to worry about it."

"Good, because I left my wallet in the truck." I said, walking through the front door.

"Well, I guess I'll see you later, Miss McKenly." She said, sweetly. I turned and sent her a hard stare for using 'Miss' again. She smiled knowingly. "Bye, Jacob." The child wished her good bye and she left, closing the door behind her. I sent Jacob down on the floor, kneeling in front of him.

"So, your dad and I decided to have a pizza-movie night and you, little man, are invited." I said, poking his chest lightly.

"Yay!" he cheered.

"But to get in, you've got to be in your jammies, so you need to go change." He nodded excitedly and hurried off into his room. I went to follow him, opening up his closet to see a bunch of games for him to play. I pulled down Hungry, Hungry Hippos, thinking that would pass the half hour we had left for his dad to get home. Jacob was quickly changed into a cute pair of pajamas with frogs on them. He was excited about playing a game. We played a few rounds before Jason walked through the door with a box of pizza.

"Daddy!" Jacob screamed when he saw his father enter his bedroom. Jacob got off up the floor and ran to his father. "Guess what!" he said when he was in his father's tight grasp.

"What?" he asked.

"Kenly says we're having a pizza movie night."

"No way!" he said, faking surprise.

"Yeah, but you gotta be in your jammies or else you can't get in." he said, grinning. "See, Daddy, I've got mine on and Kenly does, too." I smiled, and pushed myself off of the floor. He nodded his head at me in hello.

"Alright. Well, I guess that means I have to change out of this monkey suit, huh?" Jacob nodded. "Okay. You and Kenly go get the table set and I will go change, okay?" Jacob nodded again excitedly. He pushed himself out of his father's arms like he had with Chelsea. He walked over to me and grabbed my hand, leading me from his bedroom.

"Come on, Kenly. Let's go!" he said. I laughed at him.

"Alright, slow down, kiddo." I smiled sweetly at Jason as we passed. Jacob and I set the kitchen table with paper plates and a few napkins. Jason came in wearing a pair of basketball shorts and a University of South Dakota t-shirt. Jacob was sitting in his spot at the table with a sippy cup full of warm milk. I hoped that would get him to sleep quickly. I was sitting next to him with a beer from the fridge. Jason came behind me and hugged my shoulders.

"Hi." He said in my ear. My stomach exploded in a swarm of butterflies.

"Hi." I whispered, breathy.

"Thank you for watching Jacob." He said to me, dealing out a slice of pizza to each of us.

I shrugged. "I honestly had nothing better to do." He smiled.

"So I saw the truck out there. It yours?"

I nodded. "A gift from Bobby. I've been wanting once since I was little. It's my favorite car." I admitted.

"Well, I'm glad you finally got your hands on it." He said. I nodded, taking a bite from my pizza. The three of us spent most of dinner talking about what Jacob did at Pre-School and with Chelsea. It went by quickly and before we knew it, we were all sitting on the couch popping the movie in. Jason sat with his arm around my shoulders, massaging lightly. Jacob was cuddled in the middle of the two of us, laying with his head on my side. Twenty minutes in Jacob was asleep. Jason had to quietly get up from the couch and carry his son into his bedroom. I went into the kitchen to clean up the mess that we had made from dinner. Jason came out. "You didn't need to do that."

I shrugged. "I guess it's the big sister in me that tells me to clean. It's fine, really." He grabbed my hand as I reached for the pizza box to put the leftover pizza away. "What?" I asked. Jason pulled me towards him and put a hand on the side of my face. My nerves were through the roof at this moment. I couldn't breathe. He assisted in moving my head upwards to look at him.

"You, McKenly Eden, are absolutely perfect." He said.

I shook my head. "Far from it actually." I admitted. "I just try really hard to do the best that I can. It's what I was grown up to do."

"Whatever it is. You are the most astounding person I have ever had the pleasure of knowing." He told me. I scoffed.

"Please. That's only on Saturdays." He smiled at my joke. His eyes glanced down to my lips. It was slight, but I saw it. Jason started to lean in closer, and guiding me forward with one hand still on my face, and the other on my waist. My eyes fluttered closed when he got so close that I felt his breath on my face. Then, when he was almost there, he stopped.

"McKenly?" he whispered. I wanted to answer him but all I could get out was a mumble. "I'm going to kiss you now." I nodded my head, slightly. He softly brushed his lips against my own. I held my breath, shocked by all of the butterflies, swirling in my stomach. He pulled away, just a little. My eyes opened slowly, to see him smiling back at me. I grumbled. "What?"

"You stopped." I smiled. He grinned, and dipped down again, to grab my lips into another kiss. I smiled into it and pushed my lips hard against his. My hands went around his neck and I pulled him into me. Both of his hands were now on my waist, doing the exact same I was. Our kisses started to be more urgent and rushed. The heat between us starting to grow as our lips moved in sync. I moaned quietly when he moved his lips to my neck under my ear. As I lifted my chin to give him more access to my neck, his lips kept moving down as he sucked and bit at my neck. My breathing became labored as I tried to catch it up.

"Is this better?" he mumbled, buried in the crook between my neck and shoulder. I nodded. His hands traveled lower to the back of my thighs as he pulled me up, and pushed me onto the counter. My hands ran through his hair as I used it to move him to kiss my lips again. He bit my lip lightly. Jason started to kiss me again and I moaned into his touch. I thought it couldn't get any better until my phone started to ring in my pocket, making us both jump.

I groaned. "I'm sorry. Just a second. I'll turn the ringer off." I grabbed my phone from my pocket and checked the caller ID. Dean was calling. I stuttered. "Uh…" Jason looked down to see the name on the phone.

"Do you want to take it?" I looked down at the phone and back at him. I bit my lip, thinking quickly.

"Nah, I'll call him later." I said, dropping the phone onto the counter after it stopped ringing. I smiled, and used his shirt to pull him back towards me into another kiss. Halfway through my phone rang again. I groaned a second time. "You know what? Maybe I should. He doesn't normally call right back unless it was important. I'm sorry." He nodded. I smiled at him and answered the phone. "What is it, Dean?" I said, frustrated.

_"Look, I know that you're mad that I didn't call you earlier. But I've got something you might want to know about."_

"What?"

_"Black eyes."_ He said, simply. Instantly, I pictured the man from the motel we stayed at just before we went to get Sam. My heart beat loudly, but I couldn't show Jason that anything was wrong, just yet.

"What?" I asked. "Where?"

"I'll give you a minute." Jason said, leaving the room, probably to go check on Jacob. There was a chance that he heard the urgency in my voice and figured that I would need to talk to Dean. I pushed myself off of the counter.

_"Here."_ Dean told me. _"We need you."_

"Dean. I'm on a vacation. I'm not gonna just up and leave because you say something is wrong. You and Sam can handle it."

_"Jerry Panowski."_ Dean said. _"Remember him?"_

"I do. We helped him with the uh…"

_"Poltergeist. He's the one who called us. You heard of that plane crash yet?"_

"Yeah." I agreed. "But it didn't look like it was a big deal."

_"It doesn't, to the public. But there was EVP on a call for help that we got from Jerry. And a survivor claimed to see a man with black eyes open the open the emergency exit door causing the plane crash."_

"But that's impossible. No one can get those doors open without being Superman or something." I explained. Jason came back into the room.

_"That's why I'm calling you. I figured you would want to help out with this one."_

I sighed. "Well, I want to help out. But like I said, Dean, I can't just up and go. I mean I've got to help out Bobby and – " I looked up to Jason in front of me. I almost said his name, but decided it was a bad idea. He had a look on his face like he was thinking deeply about something.

"Go." Jason said to me. I looked to him questioningly.

"Dean, I'll have to call you back."

"Hurry." Dean ordered before I closed the phone, ending the call. I turned to Jason.

"Jason…"

"Go. It sounds important."

"It's really not." I insisted. "He can handle it without me. Besides, I've got you and Jacob."

"McKenly, Jacob and I have been fine for two years without a woman in our lives. We can't ask you to drop everything for us. You've known us for a week. You can't be ready for this sort of commitment."

I nodded. "You're right. I have been freaking out about it, ever since I first called you."

"So you should go." Jason said. "You can always come back. Will you come back?"

I looked up at him and smiled. "Yeah." I said, not knowing if it were the truth or not. "Just don't wait around for me. There are more fish in the sea."

"Not the way I see it."

I smiled. I looked around to make sure I had everything. Jason walked me to the door. I turned to face him and put a hand on his face, pulling him down for one last kiss. The both of us smiled. "I'll be seeing you." I said to him. He nodded. I quickly walked to my car. I had to keep telling myself not to turn around and go back. I climbed in my truck and quickly dialed Dean's number.

_"Ken?"_ he answered.

"Where are you?"

* * *

**Sorry for the long wait, but here it is. Also sorry if it's a little boring or weird. idk..**

**Please, please, please comment! I love comments.**


	15. fifteen

I absolutely hated that I had to leave South Dakota. Having to leave everything there behind me, including my truck. Knowing that Jacob could wake up one day and wonder why I haven't been around for a while nearly killed me. What would Jason even say to that? I should have known better than to get close to that little boy. I should have made sure that whatever Jason and I were doing, it didn't involve his kid. I've abandoned that little boy. That was the only thought that was rolling through my head as the bus drove on a two lane highway, surrounded by trees. Bobby wasn't even particularly happy about my leaving. I was convinced that it was only because I cooked for him.

It all came down to being Dean's fault. Dean was my reason for leaving and my reason for having to come back. I guess you never get what you want. The second I found something that I really wanted, Dean took it all away, begging me to finish a case with him. Granted, that I did want to know what the black eyes were all about, I wished Dean could have done something without me. The man knew how to use a phone. He could have called me and told me what the black eyes were and we would have gone on with our separate lives.

What hurt the most about leaving, was that Jason told me to go. He just let me walk out the door, like that entire week hadn't happened and hadn't been the best week of my entire life. I couldn't cry. I felt like I needed to, but, for some reason that I didn't know about, I just couldn't. I was hurt. After years of not dating, this is all I have to show for it? A broken heart, a confused best friend, and a kid who would someday notice that I'm not there. Knowing this is all I have now, I certainly wouldn't be dating again. Dating in my life just wasn't possible. How could I have been so stupid?

When the bus rolled into the station, my eyes instantly shot to that Chevy Impala sitting in the parking lot. I sighed, not nearly prepared enough to go back to this. It would take everything that I had in me to start screaming at Dean. I grabbed my backpack and forced myself off of the bus. In the parking lot, Sam and Dean were leaning against the passenger side of the car. Sam showed his big toothy smile and walked towards me. I smiled back and ran into his arms, hugging him tightly.

"You'd think that after not seeing you for two years, one week wouldn't be nearly as bad." I said, jokingly, as I pulled out of his grasp. Sam smiled. He seemed a little awkward and unsure of what to do in this situation. I reached up and wrapped my arms around his neck, enclosing him in another hug. "I really missed you, Sam." I said, tightening myself around his rigid figure until he relaxed and hugged me back, just as tightly.

"Hey, you're back, right?" Sam asked, into my ear. "That's all that matters." I nodded, opening my eyes to see Dean still leaning up against the car, but he was looking up from under his eyelashes. I slowly pulled myself from Sam's grasp and walked over in front of Dean. He stood up straight in front of me. I didn't know what to do, or what to say. Even after thinking about it the entire ride over here, it was like, my mind was drawing a blank. I wanted to hug him and punch him in the face at the same time.

"Dean." I said, coldly. He deserved a little bit of my cold shoulder. I was angry with him. I was in the right…right?

"Ken, don't do that." Dean told me.

I rolled my eyes. "Don't order me around." He didn't say anything back. I sighed, wishing that I hadn't been that mean to him. Maybe he didn't warrant being avoided as I thought that he did. "So what's the plan?" I asked, looking towards Sam.

"Well before we came to get you, we visited the house of one George Phelps." Sam explained. "He was the man believed to have had the black eyes. Apparently there was nothing going on at home. Nothing too strange, that would elicit him to use super strength on the airplane hatch."

"And now?"

"Now we have to check out the plane wreckage."

"But, first," Dean said, "we need some new duds."

~~

I was stuck waiting at the car, leaning against it, while the boys were inside MORT's For Style. They needed some high rate clothing so they checked out this place. Since they didn't know that I was coming back with them, they didn't have a fake ID made for me. I couldn't blame them. I wasn't planning on coming back either. It was half an hour before the two came out sporting crisp black suits they had purchased. Once Dean came out from behind Sam, my heart skipped a beat. I shook my head to get out of the wild thoughts that were running through my head.

"Man, I look like one of the Blues Brothers." Dean complained, looking down at himself.

"No, you don't. You look more like…a seventh grader at his first dance." Sam countered. I shook my head at the arguing brothers before walking up to Sam. I ordered him to lean down a little so that I could fix his collar.

"I hate this thing."

"Personally, I think you both look very handsome." I walked over to Dean. I noticed him get a little nervous as I reached up to fix his tie. "It's not every day that I get to see my two favorite guys all dressed up." Dean smiled at me. I nodded, just trying to keep the peace. Maybe if we just moved passed all of this, we could get back to normal. Like it was before I left. "And besides, according to you, this is the only way you guys can get to check out the wreck." The three of us gathered into the car. "Alright, so tell me the plan again."

"Dean and I will go in posing as Homeland Security. We'll check the EMF just to get a lead on what exactly we're looking for." Sam explained.

"And I will be here?"

Sam nodded. "Stay in the Impala, engine running. Just in case we need to make a quick getaway." I wasn't very comfortable with this. Something could easily go wrong. Going in as Homeland Security was a big deal. I don't think we have ever gone that far up the totem pole of law enforcement before. I was shaken from my thoughts when the car halted to a stop. Sam and Dean climbed out of the car before I even noticed their absence.

"McKenly." Dean called. I looked up at him, before climbing over the front seat of the car. I turned my head to him, moving my hands onto the steering wheel. Dean looked as if he was going to say something, but then he pulled away and sighed. I bit my lip. "Keep her engine running." He said, simply.

I nodded. "Don't get caught. In and out." He pat his hand on the top of the car before walking off into the building with his brother. I sighed. I hated behind left out of the good stuff. Especially since Dean dragged my back out here.

I groaned. I needed to get out of my thoughts. I pulled my phone from my pocket. There were no missed calls or messages. after I checked the time, I figured out that Jason would have just gotten to work. Jacob would be at Preschool for a few more hours, when Chelsea would be picking him up to watch him until Jason gets home. How could I stay out of their lives when I knew so much about them? I've only known who they were for about a week, but it seems like so much more than that. I enjoyed their company, and they made me feel at home. I didn't have anything supernatural to deal with. It was all very normal. Without thinking, I dialed the number to his house.

_"You've reached Jason Fisher."_ Jason's voice ran clear through the receiver end.

_"And Jacob!"_ the little boy shouted.

Jason laughed. _"Please leave a name and number at the beep and we'll get back to you as soon as we can."_

The beep sounded.

"H – Hey, uh, Jason. I know we didn't really define what was going to happen with us after I felt, but I just wanted you to know that I got in safely." I paused, taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry. Dean just – he severely overestimated the drama of the situation and I can't make it back. I wish I could. I miss you two so much. But I think that this is for the best. My family is here. I'm just not ready to settle down. Maybe our paths will cross again someday." I sighed. "Goodbye, Jason." I hung up quickly, I stared at the phone in my hands. I wasn't really all that sure that I should have called him, but I did and it was too late to take it back now. I jumped at the sound of a door slamming.

"McKenly!" Dean shouted.

I shook my head from my thoughts. "What?"

"Go!"

I gasped. "Shit, sorry!" I said, slamming the car into drive and pressing my foot on the gas. The silence in the car as we drove away was too intense for me. I knew Dean was mad about me being distracted. I tried to ease the tension. "So what did you find?" I asked, carefully. Dean shook his head and looked out the window.

"A yellow sort of powder." Sam said, taking it out of his jacket pocket. It was in a small Ziploc-like bag.

"Let me see that." I told him, reaching my arm around to take the bag from him. I opened it with one hand and drove with the other. I tried to see better by looking into the bag, but immediately drew the bag away when I caught the smell. "Urgh, Jesus." I complained. Then something hit me. "Wait, does that smell like rotten eggs to you?" I asked Dean, holding it up to his face. He took a sniff and then backed away, grabbing the bag to close it. "It does, doesn't it?" Dean nodded. "Bet my ass that stuff's sulfur." I said.

"Let's take it back to Jerry to find out." I followed his orders and drove the directions he told me. when we got there, he greeted me kindly, obviously having remembered me. I only smiled and asked him about his wife. I just wanted to get down to business. Once Jerry determined that it was, in fact, sulfur, we deemed that it was from demonic possession. It's been a while since we've dealt with the damn things, but I remembered instantly and it all made sense. The sulfuric residue, the black eyes, the superman super-strength. We went back to the boy's motel room to do some more research. We taped pictures to the walls and had articles strewn all across one bed. Sam sat at the table with his computer while Dean and I were sat on the other bed, me digging through a book, and Dean rifling through his father's journal. We sat on the same bed and he wouldn't so much as look my direction.

"So," Sam started. "every religion in every world culture seems to have their own concept of demons and demonic possession, right? I mean Christian, Native American, Hindu, you name it."

"That may be right, Sam, but not one of the ones that I've read about were like this." I told him, defeated that I couldn't find anything in the books like what we were dealing with.

"That's not exactly true. You see, according to Japanese beliefs, certain demons are behind certain disasters, both natural and man-made. One causes earthquakes, another causes disease."

"So this one causes plane crashes?" Dean asked, getting up from his side of the bed. "So what? We have a demon that's evolved with the times and found a way to ratchet up the body count?"

"Yeah. You know, who knows how many planes it's brought down before this one?" Sam played. Dean scoffs. "What?"

"I don't know. This isn't our normal gig. Demons don't want anything. They just want death and destruction for its own sake this is big." He paused. "And I wish Dad was here. Maybe then we could have a focused getaway driver." Dean said, glaring in my direction.

"Dean, don't start." Sam warned, knowing, all too well, that he was about to tread in dangerous waters.

I stood up from my spot on the bed and moved between the two. "No, Dean. Go ahead, yell at me. It's better than sitting right next to you and not even acknowledging me."

"Okay." Dean said, taking a breath. "Let's start with you being distracted back at the warehouse. What the hell was going through your mind? Sam and I told you to stay ready."

"Don't drag me into this." Sam said, sitting down to return his attention to his computer.

"So I was in space for a minute. I'm sorry! But we got away and that's all that matters!"

"I just don't think that your head is in the game."

"I was gone a week." I argued. "My head is completely in the game. I wanted to go check out the wreckage. So far, I've done nothing since you dragged me back here. And that's your doing."

"I didn't drag you back! You came back!"

"Shut up, Dean!" I shouted. "You practically begged me to come back. I was find in South Dakota. I was normal and had friends."

"Single dad and a five year old. Sounds like loads of fun."

"It was certainly better than being here with your annoying ass!"

Dean furrowed his brow, and took a deep breath. "Okay and what about that stunt you pulled a week ago? Leaving in the middle of the night. After I… you know."

"After you kissed me." I said, aloud. Finally admitting it in front of Sam. It's probably what Dean was trying to avoid, so I figured I would put him on the spot. "Before a few weeks ago, our relationship was pretty set in stone. We've always been best friends and that's it. Granted, I wasn't happy with it. You hit on everything with two legs. You have never noticed me there, wishing that it was me that you were buying drinks for. Then when I threaten leaving, suddenly it's like I'm the one thing you can't have. It was supposed to feel good. 'Cause that is exactly what I wanted, but it wasn't. with you, it's just the one night stand or cuddling to keep away the nightmares, but that's not what I want. I want a normal relationship and I had that!"

"You can't walk away from this life, McKenly!" Dean yelled, taking a step towards me.

"Obviously not, because I couldn't go a week without you needing my help!" I took a step towards him, getting in his face.

Sam took this opportunity with us not yelling at each other to get up and get between us to spread us apart. "Alright, take a break before you two kill each other." He said, carefully. He was probably still shocked about our confession that we had kissed.

"Come to think of it, I know exactly how you felt, Sam. How reluctant you were to come back to this life. You really had something with Jessica and we took that away from you. I am so sorry, Sammy." Sam didn't know what to say to my comment so he just left the room, not that he had the chance to say something.

"Don't pucker up to Sam, McKenly. This is you and me right now. I missed you, Ken. I wanted you back. We're family."

"And as family, you are supposed to support me." I said, proudly. "If I wanted to stay in Souix Falls with Jason and Jacob, and grow old and have kids, get a normal job and live that apple-pie-white-picket-fence life then you should have let me. And we should have let Sam."

"I'm sorry, okay? I don't know what else you want me say. I'm sorry that I dragged Sam out here. I'm sorry that I pissed you off so bad that you had to leave! I'm sorry that I brought you back! And I'm sorry that I kissed you!" Dean shouted.

I cringed away from him. "I'm not." I said, quietly.

"What?"

"I'm not sorry. I'm glad that you wanted me to come back. And I'm glad that you kissed me." I shrugged. "It just wasn't the right time for anything. So I got scared and I left. You and I haven't been anything but friends and I wouldn't know how to be anything else. I couldn't even keep a boyfriend that wasn't you."

"That's my fault." Dean admitted.

"Partially." I agreed. "But I realized that I wasn't ready to be a mother to that kid. And as much as that little boy made an impact on me, I would know how to feel about raising a kid that wasn't mine. I was happy there. I enjoyed Jason's company and he enjoyed mine, but I'm not ready to settle down into someone else's family. My family is here. And as much as you irritate me, I still came back."

Dean opened his mouth to respond, but his cell phone rang interrupting him. "Hello?" he answered, waiting for a response. "Oh, hey, Jerry. … Wha – Jerry, I'm sorry. What happened? … Where'd this happen? … I'll try to ignore the irony in that. … Nothing. Jerry, hang in there, alright? We'll catch up with you soon." He hung up his phone and buried it back in his pocket.

I gave him a worried look. "Another crash?"

"Yeah. We gotta go." Dean responded.

"Where?"

"Nazareth." He grabbed his jacket and started to walk out the door.

"Dean?" I called. He stopped a few step in front of the door and turned to face me. I took a deep breath and walked towards him. I wrapped my arms around his middle when I got in front of him and hugged him tight. His arms instantly snaked around my shoulders, making me sigh, taking in his scent. "I missed you." I felt him nod, then he kissed the top of my head.

* * *

**First off, let me start by saying how super, duper sorry I am that it has been so long. So, I pulled this out and I will definitely force myself to write more this weekend since I only work on Saturday.**

Second, I want to apologize again because I still suck for taking so long.

Third, tell me how this is. Please. I beg of you. I had to re-write this little bugger like three times because I didn't like it. This one is decent. Not how I saw it ending, but what's done is done.

Fourth, please comment, subscribe, and recommend (if you feel the need, not necessary). You guys rock for still sticking with me and I love comments and criticism.

:)3


	16. sixteen

After Dean and I had our moment, we got Sam and quickly drove to Nazareth to check out this new plane site. I was starting to get a little bit suspicious seeing as the man who was flying this plane was also one of the pilots from flight 2485. There was no way that it was some sort of coincidence. We found more yellow powder which we guessed was sulfur. We took some to take back to Jerry just to be sure.

"Sulfur?" Dean asked. Jerry nodded. "Well, that's great." Dean turned to Sam and I, ready to bounce ideas off of.

I sighed. "I've been thinking. I don't think it's a coincidence that it's the same pilot."

Dean nodded, agreeing. "So maybe this demon is attached to him."

Sam noticed how Jerry was starting to feel a little down. "With all due respect to Chuck, if that's the case, then that would be the good news."

"How is that good news?" Jerry asked, confused. "You're telling me that my friend was possessed by a… by a demon."

"Jerry, if anything it means that he didn't do it. At least he didn't know that he was." I informed him. His shoulders dropped a little with relief.

"Okay, so what's the bad news?" Dean asked.

Sam nodded. "Chuck's plane went down exactly forty minutes into flight. And get this: so did flight 2485."

"Forty minutes?" Jerry asked. "What does that mean?"

Dean looked to Jerry. "It's biblical numerology. You know, Noah's ark, it rained for forty days. The number means death."

"I went back," Sam continued. "And there have been six plane crashes over the last decade. They all went down exactly forty minutes in."

"Any survivors?" I asked.

Sam shook his head. "No. or not until now, at least. Not until flight 2485 for some reason. On the cockpit voice recorder, remember what the EVP said?"

"'No survivors'." Dean answered. He thought for a moment before he realized something. "It's going after all the survivors. It's trying to finish the job."

I sighed. "Looks like it's time to make some phone calls." So that's what we did. WE gathered all of the survivors names and a few numbers that we could reach them at. There weren't many, but it still took us a while to track everyone down and make sure that they wouldn't be going on another plane ride in the near future.

"Really?" Sam asked his person on the phone. "Well, thank you for taking our survey, and if you do plan to fly, please don't forget your friends at United Britanna airlines. Thanks." Sam hung up the phone. I sat in the back, my phone calls already having been made. "Well that takes care of Blaine Sanderson and Dennis Holloway. They're not flying anytime soon. What'd you get, McKenly?" he said, turning back to me.

"Nothing except for an Amanda Walker. She was a flight attendant of flight 2485. I couldn't reach her, but I got her sister, Karen, who said that her flight leaves Indianapolis at eight. She's crazy, but she's getting back up there."

Dean sighed. "That sounds like just our luck."

"I don't know, Dean. We might not make it. Indianapolis is five hours out. No matter how fast you drive."

"Sam, call Amanda's cell phone. See if we can't head her off the pass."

"I already left her three voice messages." I told him, a little annoyed. "Do you really think Sam's gonna do any better?"

"Maybe she turned her cell off." Sam pointed out. "I won't be able to reach her."

"Just try." Dean forced. I rolled my eyes, passing the number up to Sam and he called her. I leaned forward in the seat, to talk quietly to Dean.

"I don't think we're gonna make it."

"Oh, we'll make it." Dean said, immediately speeding up.

We arrived at the airport a few hours later. We quickly parked and ran inside to check the schedule of departures. Sam found it quicker than the rest of us. Whose idea was it to have those damn screens so small. Sam pointed it out.

"Right there." He said. "They're boarding in thirty minutes."

"Okay." Dean said, trying to think about the next step. "We still have some cards to play. We need to find a phone." Dean searched the floor for a courtesy phone. Sam and I quickly followed after him. Dean tried to tell Amanda that her sister was in an accident, but it didn't work for she had just talked to her sister. He tried saying that he was one of her ex-boyfriend's friends, trying to get her back. But Amanda just shrugged it off and said that she'd talk to him when she got back.

"Nice goin', Dean. What are we gonna do now?" I asked. Dean shrugged.

"Plan B. We're getting on that plane." Sam pushed. My body went rigid, along with Dean's. Dean shook his head at his brother, while I moved a little bit closer to his own body.

"Now, just hold on a second." Dean ordered.

"Dean, that plane, its leaving. It has over a hundred passengers on board. If we're right, that plane is gonna crash."

"Phrase number one on the list of things not to say in an airport." I said.

"We're getting on that plane." Sam said. "We need to find that demon and exorcise it. Look, I'll get the tickets. You and Ken get whatever you can out of the truck, whatever will make it through security. Meet me back here in five minutes." Sam turned to walk away but stopped when he noticed we weren't go anywhere. I was cowering behind Dean and he just stood there, trying to look strong, but I knew he was going out of his mind. "Are you two okay?"

Dean shrugged. "No." he said, I agreed by shaking my head. "Not really."

"What?" Sam questioned, obviously confused. "What's wrong?"

"Well, I…" I nudged Dean's back. "We, we kinda have this problem with, uh…"

"Flying?"

"It's never really been an issue until now." I admitted.

"You're joking, right?"

"Do I look like I'm joking?" Dean accused. "Why do you think that I drive everywhere?"

"And I took the bus to and from South Dakota, even though it would have been faster by plane. I've never been on a plane and I'm not about to have my first plane ride on one that could very well just fall out of the sky." I told Sam.

"Look, if you can't do it, I can go alone."

"Are you crazy?" Dean asked him. "The plane's gonna crash. And you're just gonna waltz on it and take care of a demon on our own?"

"Dean, we can do it together, or I can do it all myself. But either way, I'm not letting that plane go down without a fight."

Dean groaned and I knew that he was going to give in. I whimpered. "Great." We gathered on the plane ten minutes later, not really having anything with us. Most of the stuff wouldn't be allowed on the plane. Sam sat by the window, then Dean, and I was on the outside, by the aisle. Dean was looking over the safety manual, making sure that he knew all the safety precautions, in case of emergency. "Is this really all we get for a seat belt? Can I get a harness or something more sturdy than a freakin' lap belt." The engines started whirring and I turned my head quickly at the sound.

"Ken, it's the engine. It's supposed to make that sound." Sam told me, looking passed Dean. I glared at him. He smiled and looked to Dean, who looked just as scared as me. "Just try to relax." Sam told us.

"Just try to shut up." Dean snapped back. The plane started shaking as it prepared to take off. Dean put the safety booklet away and sat himself down in his chair. I did the same, putting my arm over his on the arm rest. He looked at our hands for a moment before taking his out from under mine and grabbing my hand and holding it tightly. I smiled at it and squeezed back. Holding Dean's hand made me feel much better, even though I was still rather scared. This plane could possibly be going down. If it was, I was going out on good terms with Dean. A little bit into the flight, Dean started humming. I smiled at him.

Sam leaned over to listen to him. "Are you humming Metallica?" he asked.

Dean nodded, but I answered for him. "It calms him down."

Sam scoffed. "Look, I get that you're nervous, alright? Both of you, I know. But stay focused. I can't have you off your game. We're gonna stop this thing."

Dean nodded. "Okay." he said. His hand was still wrapped around mine. Sam pretended not to notice, but I saw him glance at our hands.

"I mean, we got thirty-two minutes and counting. We gotta track this thing down, or whoever it's possessing, and perform a full-on exorcism."

"Listen, Sam. We're fine." I told him, even though I was lying to myself. "We can do this. I'm just confused on how were going to do the exorcism on a crowded plane."

"We'll take it one step at a time." Sam promised. "Now who is it possessing?"

"It's usually gonna be somebody with some sort of weakness, you know, a chink in the armor that the demon can worm through." Dean told him.

"So basically someone who is emotionally unstable?" I asked. Dean nodded. "If this is Amanda's first flight after the crash. Now I'm a little biased, since I hate planes, but if I were here, I'd be pretty messed up."

Dean nodded, and turned to see a flight attendant coming down the aisle. "Excuse me," he said to the woman. "Are you Amanda?" he asked.

"No, I'm not." The woman answered, smiling.

"Oh, my mistake." Dean stood up a little bit, to look at the back of the plane. There was a flight attendant tending to something on her cart. "That's gotta be her back there." Dean leaned over to Sam. "I'll go talk to her, and uh, I'll try to get a read on her mental state."

I wasn't happy with him going to talk to her. If he left my side I'd probably go insane. "What if she's already possessed?" I countered.

"There are ways to test that." Dean said, moving to dig into his bag. "I brought holy water."

Sam shook his head, taking the bottle away from his brother. "I think we can go more subtle. If she's possessed, she'll flinch at the name of God.

"Oh." Dean nodded. "Nice." Dean tried to get out of his seat, but I wouldn't let his hand go. He furrowed his brow at it, but Sam tried to get his attention. "What?"

"Say it in Latin. Cristo."

Dean nodded. "I know." He turned, facing me again. I was pleading him with my eyes, telling him not to go. He sighed. "I'll be back." My eyes dropped to our hands. "I promise." He leaned over and kissed my temple. I nodded and finally let go of his hand to watch him move passed me to get to the aisle. The plane rumbled when he was halfway down the aisle. I went rigid in my seat and grabbed onto both arm rests, wishing one of them was Dean's hand. Sam leaned over and put his hand onto of mine when he saw me struggling.

"So you and Dean kissed." He said. I nodded. "Did that just slip your mind when we talked or was it a big secret?"

I shrugged. "I was just confused. I didn't know what happened to be honest. I was dealing with it."

Sam sighed. "Just promise me that I won't be walking in on you two… you know…"

I laughed. "Trust me, Sam. Dean and I aren't going in that direction." Dean finally came back a second later, but it felt like a long time.

"Alright, she had got to be the most well-adjusted person on the planet." Dean said sarcastically.

"You said 'cristo'?" Dean nodded. "And?"

"There's not demon in her. There's not demon getting in her."

I sighed. "So if it's on the plane, it can be anyone and anywhere." The plane started shaking and I grabbed Dean's arm, my nails practically digging into his skin.

"Come on!" Dean said. "That can't be normal!"

Sam tried to calm us. "It's just a little turbulence."

Dean looked down at his arm and moved my hand into his so he wouldn't draw blood. "Look, Sam, this plane is going to crash. Quit treating us like we're kids."

"You need to calm down."

"Well, I'm sorry. I can't."

"Yes, you can." Sam assured.

"Sam, stow the touchy-feely, self-help yoga crap. It's not helping."

"Dean, calm down." I interrupted him. "If you continue with this level of anger, you could very well be the demon's next target." The look he gave me next told me that he was insanely scared. "Dean, please, calm down." I begged. He looked at me and took a deep breath and let it out slowly. I squeezed his hand.

"Good." Sam said. "No, I found an exorcism in here that I think it gonna work – the Ritual Romano."

"What do we have to do?"

The boys decided to talk about how that was going to happen. I quickly zoned out, focusing on Dean's hand in mine. He started moving his thumb in small circles over mine. I leaned by head back against the seat and breathed deeply. Trying to keep Dean on good terms was getting hard, when all that he did, made my heart beat out of my chest. I wanted him to hold me, to wrap his arms around me and just keep me there. But there he was, getting out of his seat again, to stroll the aisle with his EMF detector. I sighed, wishing he would just stay, but his hand left mine. I closed my eyes to focus on my breathing. After feeling Sam get up though, I really started to lose my cool. I was now sitting all alone. I did try to control myself so that I wouldn't get possessed, but it was hard. I watched Dean and Sam. They had a few words before Dean focused on his EMF reader in his hand. He looked forward, and a pilot looking guy, came out of the bathroom. I heard Dean say 'Cristo' and the man turned to face them. That was the first time, I had seen the black eyes since the day we got Sam.

I got up out of my seat, reluctantly and went up to Sam and Dean. "Please tell me that I didn't just see that." Dean and Sam turned quickly, not realizing that I had walked up to them. They both sighed, giving me my answer. "Damn." I groaned. I took a deep breath, calming my thoughts to think logically about the next step. "Alright. I say that we try and get Amanda to get the pilot back here and we go from there." I turned and moved back towards Amanda, not waiting for a response.

"She's not gonna like this." Sam warned. I didn't care. I was not going down with this plane. We entered the back and Amanda turned, looking at Dean.

"Oh, hi." She said. "I hope the flight's not too bumpy for you."

"Actually," I said, stealing the spotlight from Dean. "That's what we need to talk to you about."

"Um, okay. What can I do for you?" Dean said something about a 'truth is out there speech,' and the boys decided just to get straight to the point, telling her that ti wasn't a mechanical failure. She tried to leave, but Dean stopped her. He went into further detail saying that the pilot from the last flight was dead. She gave in saying something about a man with black eyes. Dean asked her to go get the copilot without any explanation. She said something about her job and I perked up.

"Honey, you're gonna lose a lot more than your job, if you don't go get him." I said, seriously, done with all the run around. She finally agreed and went to get the copilot.

"Way to be gentle about it, Ken." Dean said.

"Yeah, well I wanna get off this damn plane alive." We watched as she walked up there to get him and come back. We readied everything, Dean standing closest to the curtain, Sam digging through his father's journal, and I held the bottle of holy water. When the pilot came through the curtain, Dean turned and punched him in the face, sending the man flying to the floor. Dean climbed over him, forcing him to stay on the floor and taped his mouth shut. Amanda started panicking but Sam put a stop to it, telling her to keep watch. I sprayed some of the holy water on him and he started to get burn-like splotches all over his stomach. It was definitely him.

* * *

**Hey, so I know and I'm sorry about this being a little short, but I might have big plans for the next chapter, so don't hate me. And honestly it's probably only a hundred something words short. Anyways that's it. So, yeah.**

**Subscribe, comment, and do all that jazz because I love feedback of all kinds. Thanks. :)**


	17. Please Read

Hey, guys. I'm sorry about the fake-out chapter. I hate it when people do this because I get so excited for the next chapter, only to have my hopes brought down by a stupid author's note.

However, this is very necessary because I don't want you guys to get confused when I post the next chapter. I have seriously considered this, thinking about it for the last couple days and I think that this is the way to go.

From this point on, I am going to be posting chapters in third person instead of first. I found that i enjoy writing as a narrator instead of a character. It will also be easier to get other people's feelings written across easily without switch point of views.

So, this will happen beginning the next chapter. I'm sorry if you don't like this change, but I believe it will help me write better.

I love you guys, and thanks for all the support, comments, recommendations, and everything else. You're all beautiful and you're the reason I keep writing.

Also I am thinking of going back and re-writing those chapters written in first person, to make it less complicated for those new readers.


	18. seventeen

Dean punched the copilot in the face as hard as he could, hoping to knock the man out. "Hurry up, Sam." He said, "I don't know how much longer I can hold this tool." McKenly stayed off to the side, and sprayed the pilot again with the holy water, but it still wouldn't tire him out. Sam started to read from his father's journal. Not one of the others knew what he was saying because it was in Latin. It must have been working though, because the copilot started fighting the three more. He pushed the bottle out of McKenly's hands, making her freeze up. While Dean and her were distracted, the pilot was able to push Dean off of him and then reach for McKenly, grabbing her shirt and throwing her clear over his body, on top of Dean.

She groaned. "Sorry." She said to him, and got up. Sam had been pushed against the side of the plane, but he recuperated quickly. Dean moved McKenly out of his way as gently as he could in a hurry and pushed the pilot back down. Sam grabbed the journal again and continued from where he was forced to stop. The copilot pushed Dean back again and McKenly caught him. The man ripped the duct tape from his own mouth, without so much as a wince, and grabbed Sam's shirt, pulling him down to his level.

"I know what happened to your girlfriend!" he screamed, his voice sounding off and very robotic. Sam was shocked. His eyes went wide as he stared at the possessed man. "She must have died screaming!" Sam's faced hardened at the topic of Jessica. He didn't even like it when Dean or McKenly brought her up.

"Sam!" McKenly shouted. "Don't listen to him." She steadied Dean, and pushed him over to the other two.

"Even now, she's burning!" the copilot managed to say before Dean punched him in the face again. McKenly stood back, feeling slightly bad for the guy that the demon was possessing. The man was really taking a beating. Not that he could fight back or anything. Dean made sure that he had a better hold on the demon before yelling at Sam to get back in the game. Sam stared at the guy for a minute before he started reading front the journal again. He finished the chant, and dropped the journal. The tree gathered around him and grabbed his limbs that way he had a harder time fighting as the demon was expelled. It took a bit for it to happen, but when the black smoke like creature come out of his mouth it went into the vent of the plane. McKenly sighed, even though she knew that they weren't done yet.

"Where'd he go?" Sam asked.

"He's in the plane. Hurry up. We gotta finish it." Dean answered.

"Where's the book?" McKenly asked, turning to where she swore Sam dropped it. They all looked around the back area and couldn't find it.

"He must have kicked it out there." Sam said, already pushing his way through the curtain. The plane began to shake violently as McKenly and Dean were left alone in the back. The two tried to grab on what they could, but the plane tilted downwards without warning. Dean fell backwards into the corner. McKenly landed on the floor. Dean quickly tried to push himself up to reach for her. He grabbed her arm and pulled her back into the corner that he came from. Dean held McKenly tight with one arm, holding her to his chest. His other arm was holding tight to the wall trying to keep the two there. McKenly held on to him tightly with both of her arms. She wasn't going anywhere unless it was with him.

"McKenly!" he shouted. She looked up at him. "I – "

"Shut up!" she interrupted. Dean was confused. "You wouldn't do it under normal circumstances. Don't do it now because you think we're gonna die. Sam will fix this." She promise. "We're getting out of here alive and if you say it now, you could regret it later."

Dean groaned. "Urgh, dammit!" he cursed, before pulling the girl up so they were face to face and smashing her lips to his. Shocked by his actions, McKenly pulled away from Dean, holding herself against the wall they were leaning on. McKenly stared angrily away from his direction, thinking about what happened. She had been wanting him to do that since she got back. She wanted him to go and get her from South Dakota even though she told him not to. Dean made her heart beat out of her chest, just like it was then. Everything she felt wasn't just because they were falling from the sky.

The exact same thing could be said about Dean. He really cared about McKenly, but he wasn't sure exactly what it was quite yet. He liked kissing her, but she was right. They didn't need their "relationship" to get in the way of their job. He didn't regret kissing her right then. If they were going to die, that's how he wanted to go, showing her how he felt.

McKenly sighed and shook her head, trying to get out of her thoughts. Light flashed outside like lightening. The plane steadied itself and began flying at a normal angle. McKenly pushed herself off of the wall. "This is exactly what I didn't want happening." She said, before walking out through the curtain and joining Sam in the main airplane area. Dean still didn't regret what he had done. He followed McKenly out to meet Sam. The three shared a look, thankful that everything was over.

The plane was turned around and went right back to wear it came from. Dean and McKenly couldn't have gotten off the plane faster than they had. Even though that the plane was landed, they still felt as if it could take them up again and fly them into the ground. The three were just standing around, checking up to make sure that Amanda had kept to her made-up story to tell the cops. Dean looked to Sam, ignoring McKenly's gaze. Dean wanted to get out of the airport but Sam was unconvinced that the demon just 'happened' to know about what happened with Jessica. But demons lie and its possible that they read minds. So it was just better if they had let it go.

Dean drove them to the airplane hangar to talk to Jerry and let him know that everything was back to normal. There would be no more plane crashes caused by the supernatural.

"Nobody knows what you guys did, but I do." Jerry admitted. "A lot of people could have been killed. Your dad's gonna be real proud." McKenly looked away from him, not sure that her dad would be as proud of her for what she's doing. His plan for her was probably college and a steady sort of job.

"We'll see you around, Jerry." Sam said, shaking Jerry's hand. Dean shook his hand next then moved onto McKenly, who smiled as best she could. She still had the kiss between her and Dean in her mind.

"You know, Jerry," Dean said, making the man stop on his way back inside the building. "I mean to ask you… How did you get my cellphone number, anyway? I've only had it for like six months."

"Your dad gave it to me." Jerry responded.

"What?" Sam asked.

"When did you talk to him?" Dean questioned.

"I didn't exactly talk to him." Jerry said. "I called his number. His voice message said to give you a call." Sam and Dean nodded, while McKenly just stood there, wanting to leave. "Thanks again." Jerry told them before walking away. Sam looked to Dean and McKenly with a look that they couldn't read. Sam walked around to their side of the car.

"This doesn't make any sense." Sam said. "I've called Dad's number like fifty times." McKenly rolled her eyes and took out her cell phone. "It's been out of service." McKenly dialed John's number and put the call on speaker phone. It rang until the call hit his voicemail message.

_"This is John Winchester. I can't be reached. If this is an emergency, call my son, Dean, at 785-555-0179. He can help."_ John's voice assured. The three stood together for a minute before Sam angrily walked back to his side of the car, leaving Dean and McKenly alone outside of the car.

McKenly sighed. "Why doesn't he just help them himself? In fact, why doesn't he help us?"

Finally, since the kiss, Dean looked at her. "He's looking for the thing that killed our parents, Ken, you know that."

"I know, but we could help. I'm tired of doing these small jobs."

Dean shook his head. "Are we ever going to talk about what happened?"

McKenly groaned. "No. I told you not to do anything."

"You told me not to say anything." He corrected.

"Same thing." She snapped.

"I wasn't just doing it cause I thought we were gonna die. I did it for the same reason I did last time. Because I care about you. I would do it again if you let me." Dean moved a little closer to McKenly who's heart was beating out of her chest. She noticed what was going on and took her own step back.

"I'm not doing this, Dean." She sighed. "You and me are not going to work. I'm not gonna argue with you about this anymore. I don't want what you think I want anymore. After what happened with Jason, there is absolutely no hope for me in having any sort of relationship when I've got this job. I'm sticking to the job. Focusing on it and finding the bastard that killed my parents."

Dean nodded, even though he wasn't happy. However, it was what she wanted and for now, he was going to go along with it, and work on making her see a completely different side of him.

McKenly was tired. She didn't like arguing with Dean. She hadn't slept since the airplane. Not that she hadn't tried, but that she couldn't. Her thoughts were just running wild through her mind. McKenly didn't want to lie to Dean. She wanted him to kiss her again. But what she said was true. She couldn't do the job thinking about a guy. They had to find John and the thing that killed her parents. If there was anything she really wanted, it was revenge. She wanted to look the thing in the eye while she killed it.

Sam started to move around in the front sleep. He was sleeping finally. According to Dean, he hadn't gotten much sleep since he lost Jessica. It was understandable. Now, though, it looked as if he was having a nightmare. She leaned forward in her seat to talk to Dean. "Wake him up." she told him.

"Why? He's asleep."

"Yeah, but he's having a nightmare. You don't sleep well, if you're being haunted in your dreams." Dean rolled his eyes, and woke him up anyway.

"Sam, wake up!" Dean shouted, shaking his brother. Sam sat up in his seat of the Impala, breathing heavily and looking around. Dean and McKenly were giving him odd looks, but were worried about him.

"I take it I was having a nightmare?" Sam guessed.

"Yeah." Dean said, "another one."

"Hey, at least I got some sleep." Sam said, jokingly.

"It's not funny, Sam." McKenly told him. "We're gonna have to talk about what's going on with you. You can't keep going on like this."

Sam shook his head. "Are we here?" he asked, trying to divert the subject. McKenly sighed, giving up for now. She was very uncomfortable with how Sam had been acting for the past few days that she'd been back.

Dean nodded at Sam's question. "Yep. Welcome to Toledo, Ohio."

Sam picked up the newspaper that was set up between the two on the seat. There was a picture of a man circled in the obituary section, the place where they found most of their cases. "So what do you think really happened to this guy?" Sam asked.

Dean shrugged. "That's what we're gonna find out." He settled his stuff down on the seat and pulled the handle on his door. "Let's go." He said to Sam and McKenly. The three of them entered the police station and down into the basement to the morgue, where they believed the body of their victim was. The three of them passed by an empty desk, Dean taking special note and looking at the name plate on the edge. The next desk wasn't empty and had someone sitting behind it.

"Hey," Dean called, friendly-like with a smile on his face.

"Can I help you?" the man asked, looking up at the three of them confused. McKenly stood towards the back, looking around the place, checking it out, just in case things went wrong.

"Yeah, We're the uh, Med students." Dean told the guy behind the desk.

The man seemed to have no idea what he was talking about. "Sorry?"

"Oh, Doctor Fliglavitch didn't tell you?" Dean pointed to the other desk. "We talked to him on the phone. We're from Ohio State. He was supposed to show us the Shoemaker corpse. It's for the paper that we're writing."

"Well, I'm sorry." The man said. "He's at lunch."

"Oh…" Dean trailed. "Well, he said that he uh… Oh, well, you know, it doesn't matter. You don't mind just showing us the body, do you?"

"Doc, will be back in an hour. You can wait for him, if you want."

"An hour?" Dean asked. The way Dean was handling things, the three of them would never see the body. "We got to be heading back to Columbus by then."

McKenly stepped forward and rolled her eyes. "Hey." She said, sexily, leaning down over his desk, squishing her chest together to give him something to be distracted by. "Listen, we really need to see this body. If I don't pass this paper, then I have to go through another semester of class with these douchebags feeling me up at every chance they get." McKenly gestured with her head back to Sam and Dean. "Please?" she asked. The man swallowed, looking between McKenly's face and her chest. He nodded, and pushed away from his desk.

"Follow me." the man said. The man walked away and Sam followed after, but Dean stopped and grabbed McKenly's arm.

"What she asked him?"

"Don't do that again." He said.

"You don't own me. I can handle myself."

"Well, fine. I'm asking you. Could you not do that again?"

McKenly shook her head at Dean. "Dean, as I recall you told me to do that. Back when we stopped at the motel? You said, flaunt my sexuality and I can get anything." McKenly smirked and tilted her head to the side. "I'm only following your advice." She left Dean to follow Sam and the morgue tech. She entered the next room where Sam was already questioning him.

"Now the newspaper said his daughter found him. She said his eyes were bleeding."

"More than that," the tech said, creepily like he was excited about the gruesomeness. "They practically liquefied." The man pulled the sheet from over the body. McKenly sucked in her breath a little disgusted by the sight of the man's face in front of her. They were posing as med students though, so she had to keep her cool.

"Any sign of a struggle? Maybe somebody did that to him?" Dean asked.

The morgue tech shook his head. "Nope. Besides the daughter, he was all alone."

"What's the official cause of death?" McKenly asked, holding her breath.

"Doc's not sure. He's thinking it was some sort of massive stroke, or maybe an aneurysm. Something burst up in there, that's for sure.

"What do you mean?"

"Intense cerebral bleeding." The morgue tech answered. "This guy had more blood in his skull than anyone I've ever seen."

Sam nodded. "But the eyes? What would cause something like that?"

"Capillaries can burst. I see a lot of bloodshot eyes with stroke victims."

"Yeah? You ever see exploding eyeballs?" Dean asked.

"That's a first for me. But, hey, I'm not the doctor."

"You think we could take a look at that police report? You know for our, uh, our paper?"

"I'm not really supposed to show you that." the morgue tech said, then looking at McKenly, licking his lip.

"In your dreams, buddy." McKenly groaned internally, not liking what he was probably thinking. Dean shifted nervously next to her, really wishing that he could reach out and beat the shit out of this guy. McKenly grabbed Dean's arm, out of sight. "Money will have to do." McKenly said, looking back at Sam, who reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet and handed him a few twenties.

The three left after looking at the police report. Heading to the stairs, Sam wasn't all that sure about their case. "This might not be one of ours. It could be just some freak medical thing."

"How many times in Dad's long and varied career has it _actually been_ some freak medical thing and not some sign of an awful supernatural death?" Dean asked.

Sam sighed. "Almost never."

"This is too weird, Sam." McKenly said. "This has got to be one of ours. Eyes just don't explode in someone's head. I say that we go talk to the daughter and see if she noticed anything off about her father before it happened."

* * *

**Well, here is the first chapter written in third person. I hoped you enjoyed it.**

**Shorty after I'm done here, I will be going back and reposting Chapter 1 in third person. I am going to try to post a rewritten chapter at the same time I post a new chapter.**

**Anyway, hope you enjoy! Tell me what you think of the third person.**

**Thank you to _Carver Edlund_ and _YoullJustHaveToDeal_ for reviewing!**

**:)3**


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